A tardy start cost Niccanova a win in the Eagle Farm Mile 2020 results with the beaten favourite brilliant late but just unable to get to the eventual Godolphin-raced winner Gaulois.

Gaulois (pictured at Rosehill) held on narrowly to win the 2020 Eagle Farm Mile for Godolphin. Photo: Steve Hart.

On the quick back-up out of last Saturday’s Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) when second to Tyzone at big odds, the Steve Tregea-trained Nicconi six-year-old from Toowoomba Niccanova started favourite in the Group 3 $125,000 Eagle Farm Mile (1600m).

He was second last out the gates however and forced to travel towards the tail of the field in a wide run throughout, ruining his chances of a consolation win during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.

Leading the field around despite instructions not to do so on the James Cummings-trained Gaulois was the in-form hoop Brad Stewart coming off a winning ride one race earlier aboard the favourite Vanna Girl in the Group 2 The Roses.

From a wide barrier (14 of 15), tenacious Street Cry five-year-old Gaulois looked to enjoy the challenge of crossing the field to take up the lead having last been seen finishing a nose back second in the Listed Wayne Wilson (1600m) at the Sunshine Coast on May 15.

With a month between runs, Gaulois was fresh and firing in the Eagle Farm Mile kicking away to lead from barrier to box.

The horse was three lengths clear around the turn for home, but was put under pressure on the straight including from stablemate Best Of Days who was flying home up the inside making up ground quickly.

Flashing down the outside with a brilliant late run, Niccanova did his best work in the closing stages, really accelerating in the final 20m to force a photo finish in the Eagle Farm Mile.

He was just a little too late however as Gaulois held on to beat Niccanova with the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Military Zone third ahead of Best Of Days in a busy four-way finish.

“Instructions certainly weren’t to lead but all is forgiven when they win a Group race like this, i was nervous in the run but Brad (Stewart) got him home,” Godolphin stable representative Nicim Dilmi said.

“At the six hundred when he just started to extend a get a few of them off the bit I started to think he was going to have enough to hold on he had a good gap half way up the straight and just fell in.

“Brad (Stewart) was kind enough to come down Tuesday morning and gallop him to get a feel for the horse and he said he felt a million bucks and would be very tough to beat.

“Both Gaulois and Best Of Days will head back to Melbourne now for a spell before coming back in Spring and hopefully picking up some more Black Type races.”

2020 Eagle Farm Mile Results

Colour	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	5	GAULOIS	James Cummings	Brad Stewart		14	56.5kg		$9.50
	2	4	NICCANOVA	Steve Tregea	James Orman	0.1L	12	56.5kg		$2.10F
	3	3	MILITARY ZONE	Peter & Paul Snowden	Ryan Maloney	0.3L	5	57.5kg		$6
	4	1	BEST OF DAYS (GB)	James Cummings	Robbie Fradd	0.4L	3	59.5kg		$8
	5	6	SILVERA	Tony Gollan	Jim Byrne	1.65L	15	56.5kg		$21
	6	13	LA PULGA	Michael Costa	Jag Guthmann-Chester	2.4L	7	55kg		$31
	7	8	KAONIC (NZ)	Chris Waller	Luke Dittman	3.15L	2	56kg		$31
	8	12	TAMARACK (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Boris Thornton	3.35L	4	55kg		$151
	9	14	DELECTATION GIRL (GB)	Kris Lees	Andrew Mallyon	3.65L	8	54kg		$18
	10	9	COOL CHAP	Robert Heathcote	Ms Stephanie Thornton	4.4L	10	55.5kg		$71
	11	10	GET STUCK IN	Tony Gollan	Blake Spriggs	4.5L	9	55kg		$21
	12	11	SIR BARNABUS	Jason Edwards	Taylor Marshall	6.75L	11	55kg		$31
	13	2	SESAR	Kacy Fogden	Michael Cahill	7.15L	1	58kg		$41
	14	7	VICTORY EIGHT (NZ)	Trevor Miller	Daniel Griffin		6	56kg		$61
	15	15	ELLA DIVINE	Robert Heathcote	Mark Du Plessis		13	53kg		$151

*Table Credit: Racing Australia.