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Kris Lees‘ nicely bred son of sire of the moment Too Darn Hot, Rivellino, continued a flawless start to his career making it two-from-two when overcoming a wide draw to claim victory in Saturday’s 2025 Inglis Millennium results at Royal Randwick.
Champion hoop James McDonald showed why he took home the big bucks timing his run in the lucrative $2 million Inglis Millennium (1100m) to perfection to get Rivellino ($4) home first with a huge late charge.
The colt jumped from a double-digit barrier but made up the ground in the closing stages to run down Within The Law and salute by a half-length with Artistic Venture completing the Inglis Millennium trifecta in third.
Rivellino impressed on debut back on January 4 at the same track when kicking off his career with a 1.88 length win over The Magic Man.
He proved that performance was just the beginning bagging the $1.15 million first prize in the Restricted Listed feature in Sydney.
Newcastle horseman Lees was very pleased with Rivellino’s performance in the Inglis Millennium.
He mentioned that Rivellino had trained on well since his trial and that McDonald was happy to stick with him.
“He has pulled up well from his tick over trial and James McDonald rode him and is happy to stick on him, which is always a positive,” Lees told the media.
Lees wasn’t overly concerned about Rivellino’s wide draw, noting that it was only one turn at Randwick from the 1100m start, and he expected Rivellino to be strong late in the race.
“Barrier draws hold the key with these two-year-olds in these sort of races but I can’t fault my horse,” he said.
Lees also highlighted that Rivellino had come on well since his debut win and that the colt had shown significant improvement.
“He has come on well, which he will probably need to because I don’t know how much depth was in that race he won but we will find out,” he added.
Lees said the Group 1 $5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 22 now looked within reach for Rivellino this season.
“I think he could, but it’s a run at a time with two-year-olds when they’re up early so we’ll see,” he said when sharing his thoughts on Rivellino’s potential for the Golden Slipper.
Lees emphasised the importance of taking it one race at a time, especially with young horses like Rivellino.
Updated all-in 2025 Golden Slipper Stakes odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au have Rivellino into $21 to win the world’s richest race for two-year-olds.
2025 Inglis Millennium Results
| 2. Rivellino (13) J: James McDonald56.5kg 1T: Kris Lees | ||
| 9. Within The Law (14) J: Jason Collett54.5kg 11T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 14. Artistic Venture (7) J: Tom Sherry54.5kg 4T: John O'Shea & Tom Charlton | ||
| 4. Grafterburners (12) J: Adam Hyeronimus56.5kg 312T: Kelly Schweida | ||
| 6. Sanctified (11) J: Jay Ford56.5kg 3T: Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | ||
| 11. Open Secret (15) J: Zac Lloyd54.5kg 1T: John P Thompson | ||
| 12. Price Tag (9) J: Tyler Schiller54.5kg 34x2T: Anthony & Sam Freedman | ||
| 5. Crown The King (10) J: Tim Clark56.5kg 2xT: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | ||
| 3. The Magic Man (1) J: Kerrin McEvoy56.5kg 2622T: Paul Perry | ||
| 16. Deep Affection (16) J: Reece Jones54.5kg 00T: John P Thompson | ||
| 1. Cobra Club (8) J: Regan Bayliss56.5kg 2T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | ||
| 7. Yolo (6) J: Ashley Morgan56.5kg 45T: Ciaron Maher | ||
| 15. Sheeza Diva (5) J: Winona Costin54.5kg 54T: M & D Kearney | ||
| 8. Prince Marionette (4) J: Rhys McLeod56.5kg 2T: Patrick Kearney | ||
| 13. Bubion (3) J: Zac Wadick54.5kg 24x8T: Anthony & Sam Freedman | ||
| 10. Kujenga (2) J: Chad Schofield54.5kg 1T: Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald |
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