A brilliant ride by Hugh Bowman saw Preferment win the Group 1 $1.5m The BMW (2400m) at Rosehill today.
Preferment, gold cap, holds off stablemate Who Shot Thebarman to win The BMW at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
A lightning like move approaching the home turn saw Bowman send Preferment ($4.40) to the front to set up a winning break that saw him hang on to beat stablemate Who Shot Thebarman ($10) by a neck.
And once again trainer Chris Waller provided a Group 1 winning trifecta with Grand Marshal ($31) running on strongly for third.
Waller provided a Group 1 winning trifecta at Rosehill last week when Winx beat Kermadec and Press Statement in the $1m China Horse Club George Ryder Stakes (1500m).
Preferment was caught three wide in the early and middle stages but with a solid pace up front from Our Ivanhowe and Storm The Stars, Bowman took the chance and took off early.
Preferment collected his fourth Group 1 today following his last start win on protest in the Group 1 $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 12.
The Zabeel stallion also won the 2014 Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) and the 2015 Group 1 $500,000 Yellowglen Turnbull Stakes (2000m) both at at Flemington.
Waller will now freshen up Preferment before running in the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on the second day of ‘The Championships’ in a fortnight.
“Obviously from a stallion point of view. We went to a Melbourne Cup and you can see what trouble you run into in a race like that.”
“We will just freshen him up, do everything we can to just get him jumping out of his skin next week and then we can prepare him in the next seven days for a Queen Elizabeth.”
Waller was thrilled to win his first BMW, but also had high accolades for Who Shot Thebarman and Grand Marshall who are heading towards the Group 1 $2m Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick on the same day as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“A great thrill,” Waller said.
“Not just to get the winner especially with a horse like Preferment, but Who Shot Thebarman and Grand Marshal have been great horses and they are in terrific form going towards the Sydney Cup.”
The BMW Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | PREFERMENT (NZ) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | – | 4 | 58.5kg | $4.40F |
| 2 | 2 | WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (NZ) | Chris Waller | Blake Shinn | 0.2L | 7 | 59kg | $10 |
| 3 | 4 | GRAND MARSHAL (GB) | Chris Waller | Jason Collett | 1.5L | 3 | 59kg | $31 |
| 4 | 10 | MONTAIGNE (NZ) | Anthony Cummings | Damien Oliver | 2.2L | 2 | 54kg | $4.60 |
| 5 | 9 | RISING ROMANCE (NZ) | David Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Craig Williams | 2.4L | 1 | 57kg | $12 |
| 6 | 3 | ALMOONQITH (USA) | David Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Michael Walker | 4.8L | 5 | 59kg | $14 |
| 7 | 8 | STORM THE STARS (USA) | Chris Waller | Tye Angland | 5.5L | 9 | 57.5kg | $16 |
| 8 | 5 | ARAB DAWN (GB) | John O’Shea | James McDonald | 5.6L | 10 | 59kg | $18 |
| 9 | 6 | MONGOLIAN KHAN | Murray Baker | Opie Bosson | 14.3L | 6 | 58.5kg | $5.50 |
| 10 | 1 | OUR IVANHOWE (GER) | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Kerrin McEvoy | 22.7L | 8 | 59kg | $7.50 |
