The Godolphin-raced mare Colette relished the rain in Sydney for the $7.5 million The Golden Eagle at Rosehill Gardens winning the feature race on a Heavy (9) track in a thrilling late fight to the line.
The country’s second richest race, the spring showdown for four-year-olds went down to the wire with young hoop Koby Jennings getting the job done aboard the gutsy James Cummings-trained Colette.
Over an unsuitably short 1500m distance, the well-bred daughter of Hallowed Crown found a way to win and retain her undefeated record – now three-from-three – on Heavy tracks.
A genuine staying type having won the Group 1 ATC Oaks (2400m) in Sydney on a Heavy (8) as a three-year-old back in April, Colette celebrated her first win since fourth-up in The Golden Eagle.
“She just savaged the line,” Cummings told the media post-win.
“She looked like (her dam) Hallowed Crown there those last 100m!
“We’ve managed to get this mare absolutely spot on for the day.
“This farm has produced the most amazing crop of horses. This crop of horses we’ve got now have won the Golden Gift, the Golden Slipper and we’ve just topped it off with the Grand Slam in the Golden Eagle.
“You’ve got to remember on days like this, it all starts somewhere.”
Just Thinkin’ led them around in The Golden Eagle and was still in front on the turn for home before the challenges came.
On the improve was the Brad Widdup-trained Icebath, ridden by apprentice Tom Sherry, while Colette was winding-up late in a huge run.
She and Icebath went stride for stride, with Colette really digging deep to just win The Golden Eagle in a photo as Dawn Passage held for third off a wide run.
“She’s a super mare,” Cummings said.
“What a wonderful performance for her to win this fresh over a distance that was too short for her.”
2020 The Golden Eagle Results
Colour | Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 | COLETTE | James Cummings | Koby Jennings | 6 | 55.5kg | $10 | |||
2 | 18 | ICEBATH (NZ) | Brad Widdup | Tom Sherry (a) | 0.1L | 5 | 55.5kg | $6 | ||
3 | 4 | DAWN PASSAGE | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 0.9L | 13 | 57.5kg | $21 | ||
4 | 17 | ALL SAINTS’ EVE (NZ) | John O’Shea | Sam Clipperton | 2.2L | 3 | 55.5kg | $41 | ||
5 | 9 | BOTTEGA | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | James Innes Jnr | 2.8L | 4 | 57.5kg | $26 | ||
6 | 3 | SUPERSTORM | Grant & Alana Williams | Joshua Parr | 3L | 16 | 57.5kg | $20 | ||
7 | 2 | BRANDENBURG (NZ) | John Sargent | Regan Bayliss | 3.2L | 11 | 57.5kg | $31 | ||
8 | 10 | CRIADERAS | James Cummings | Keagan Latham | 3.6L | 9 | 57.5kg | $21 | ||
9 | 15 | EMERALDS | John Sargent | Jason Collett | 4.8L | 15 | 55.5kg | $41 | ||
10 | 11 | FLIT | James Cummings | Ms Rachel King | 5L | 14 | 55.5kg | $21 | ||
11 | 5 | RIODINI (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Brenton Avdulla | 5.1L | 7 | 57.5kg | $13 | ||
12 | 16 | SIERRA SUE (NZ) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Nash Rawiller | 6L | 1 | 55.5kg | $7.50 | ||
13 | 7 | RELOADED | Chris Waller | Robbie Dolan | 7.3L | 10 | 57.5kg | $201 | ||
14 | 6 | WINDSTORM | Grant & Alana Williams | Glyn Schofield | 8.3L | 8 | 57.5kg | $31 | ||
15 | 1 | ALLIGATOR BLOOD | David Vandyke | Ryan Maloney | 8.5L | 12 | 57.5kg | $10 | ||
16 | 14 | SUBPOENAED (NZ) | Chris Waller | Jay Ford | 8.6L | 2 | 55.5kg | $41 | ||
17 | 12 | FUNSTAR | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 11.6L | 18 | 55.5kg | $4.80F | ||
18 | 8 | JUST THINKIN’ | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Ms Kathy O’Hara | 12.3L | 17 | 57.5kg | $151 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.