Trainer Chris Waller celebrated a Group 1 double on VRC Derby Day with his success in the Coolmore Stud Stakes with September Run followed by an upset in the 2020 Kennedy Cantala with former South African galloper Yulong Prince.
Yulong Prince won the 2020 Kennedy Cantala at Flemington for the Chris Waller stable. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
The filly September Run was the favourite in the Group 1 Coolmore, but Gimmethegreenlight entire Yulong Prince went around at double-figures in the Group 1 $1 million Kennedy Cantala (1600m) at Flemington.
The six-year-old had been knocking on the door in Sydney with plenty of close calls over the past season including his fourth last start when only 1.3 lengths off Probabeel in Randwick’s Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m).
Heading south for the Cantala, Yulong Prince made it two-from-two at HQ where he’d previously won the Listed Cup Day Plate (1800m) last Melbourne Cup Day.
His success in the Kennedy Cantala was his first victory since and broke a year-long drought for the horse who also boasts Group 1 winning form from back in South Africa.
Jockey Damian Lane took over for Sam Clipperton in the saddle and had the eventual winner in the right position, charging home down the middle in a stellar finish off a hot speed.
It was Buffalo River up front leading the field around at speed from Age of Chivalry, but the pressure was on those front runners late as the swoopers came with their runs from the back.
At the 100m Age Of Chivalry was in the lead but tiering quickly as Yulong Prince and Cascadian charged late, the latter having made up all the ground from the tail-end of the field only to be denied the win running second.
In third rounding out the Kennedy Cantala trifecta was Rock for Hawkes Racing.
“He’s had his opportunities and sometimes just hasn’t been too genuine, but today we said to Damian to just track into the straight and give him a lot of room in the straight and he’s going to take a lot of riding, but he’s certainly got the ability,” Waller’s stable rep Jo Taylor told the media.
2020 Kennedy Cantala Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | YULONG PRINCE (SAF) | Chris Waller | Damian Lane | 11 | 55kg | $10 | |||
| 2 | 7 | CASCADIAN (GB) | James Cummings | Damien Oliver | 0.2L | 14 | 54.5kg | $15 | ||
| 3 | 9 | ROCK | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Michael Poy (a) | 0.7L | 2 | 54kg | $8.50 | ||
| 4 | 12 | AGE OF CHIVALRY (NZ) | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Daniel Moor | 1.45L | 15 | 53kg | $21 | ||
| 5 | 1 | FIFTY STARS (IRE) | Tom Dabernig & Ben Hayes | John Allen | 1.65L | 12 | 58kg | $16 | ||
| 6 | 3 | OLMEDO (FR) | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 2.65L | 16 | 56kg | $31 | ||
| 7 | 8 | I AM SUPERMAN (IRE) | Peter & Paul Snowden | Jye McNeil | 2.95L | 1 | 54kg | $31 | ||
| 8 | 10 | STREETS OF AVALON | Shane Nichols | Zac Spain | 3.15L | 9 | 54kg | $101 | ||
| 9 | 15 | NONCONFORMIST | Grahame Begg | Jordan Childs | 3.25L | 8 | 53kg (cd 53.5kg) | $8 | ||
| 10 | 6 | BEST OF DAYS (GB) | James Cummings | Ben Melham | 3.75L | 10 | 54.5kg (cd 55kg) | $21 | ||
| 11 | 4 | WILD PLANET | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | William Pike | 4.5L | 6 | 55kg | $9 | ||
| 12 | 16 | KING’S LEGACY | Peter & Paul Snowden | Glen Boss | 4.7L | 5 | 51kg | $18 | ||
| 13 | 2 | MR QUICKIE | Phillip Stokes | Jamie Kah | 4.8L | 13 | 58kg | $6.50F | ||
| 14 | 14 | CHIEF IRONSIDE (GB) | Kris Lees | Kerrin McEvoy | 5L | 3 | 53kg | $20 | ||
| 15 | 13 | BUFFALO RIVER (USA) | Michael Moroney | Craig Williams | 5.1L | 7 | 53kg | $7.50 | ||
| 16 | 11 | THE VELVET KING | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 6.6L | 4 | 53.5kg | $26 | ||
| 19e | HARBOUR VIEWS (FR) | Matthew Williams | Kerrin McEvoy | 0 | ||||||
| 20e | RELOADED | Chris Waller | Michael Dee | 0 | ||||||
| 17e | REYKJAVIK | Lindsey Smith | Dean Yendall | 0 | ||||||
| 18e | JUNIPAL | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Jye McNeil | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
