It’s hard to go past Craig Williams. A week on from guiding Mr Brightside to his third Makybe Diva Stakes success in succession, Williams was again to the fore at Caulfield, celebrating a treble on the program at Caulfield, including the two Group 1 events. The latter victory aboard Sepals marked his eighth Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes success. Williams enjoyed a terrific Spring Carnival last year, highlighted by his Everest triumph aboard Bella Nipotina and his success on Mr Brightside in the Champions Mile, and he appears to be on track to feature prominently on the major days of this year’s Carnival.
Craig started his treble with consistent mare Shadavar
Winning Trainer: Tom Dabernig (stable rep Dara O’Meachair interviewed)
On the mare and owners: “Thrilled to get another nice win for Joe (O’Neill) and Prime Thoroughbreds. He’s a little bit under the weather at the moment, actually, so this will be a nice tonic for him. Full credit to this mare, she’s had a fantastically consistent prep up until now and nice to get another win on board.”
On her ability to run 1400 and maybe further: “I know it was always in the back of Tom’s mind. She’s got a great big action and looked like she would get this sort of distance. She was a little bit over-enthusiastic, I would say, as a young horse, so that’s why he kept her to sprinting trips, but now that she’s a little bit more mature and sensible, 1400 and maybe even a mile (will suit). She probably didn’t want it too much further today, but in time she might get up towards 1600.”
Watch her win on Saturday:
Future plans: “I know Tom is keen to see how she goes at Flemington and she may well front up there in a couple of weeks’ time. There are two 1400s, a mares’ race and one against the boys, so it’s likely she’ll be in one of them and see if she can possibly add a bit of Black Type to the one she already has a three-year-old.”
Sir Delius stamped Melbourne Cup aspirations with a pulsating Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) triumph at Caulfield on Saturday.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained son of Frankel fought back strongly over the concluding stages under champion jockey Craig Williams to deny Buckaroo back-to-back Underwood Stakes.
REPLAY:
Buckaroo, trained by Chris Waller, sustained a searching gallop from back in the field before the turn to find the front inside the last 200m but Sir Delius refused to give up as supreme stamina kicked in.
“I can’t describe how excited I am, I cannot tell you,” Waterhouse said.
“It’s the most exciting thing I’ve seen in years.
“He was not in a good a position throughout the race. He was back, about one or two positions off the fence.
“He was trying, trying and when he came around the straight he wasn’t any good thing, but then all of a sudden he saw the winning post and he took off. He was just fabulous.”
Sir Delius returned $2.10 for favourite backers.
Sir Delius should only be better suited third-up in the Group 1 Might And Power Stakes (2000m) next month at Caulfield before a Cox Plate (2040m) bid, a final hitout for the Melbourne Cup.
Sir Delius joined star international Al Riffa atop Melbourne Cup markets as a $6 equal favourite after the tenacious Underwood win.
The four-year-old, who cemented a future at stud with the elite win on Saturday, was promoted to second favourite in Might And Power Stakes and Cox Plate all-in markets.
Waterhouse saddled a third Underwood in four years on Saturday after Alligator Blood scored back-to-back victories in 2022-23.
An in-form Craig Williams added a remarkable eighth Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) to his record on Saturday as he guided the Cliff Brown-trained Sepals (Calyx) to a gritty breakthrough top-flight victory in the $1 million handicap.
Able to make the 52-kilogram lightweight, Williams was replacing Sepals’ last-start partner Ethan Brown and produced a masterful ride, urging the progressive four-year-old gelding to sit second after a tardy start from barrier 14 of 15.
The pair kicked clear upon straightening and Sepals – lining up for just his seventh start off the back of a brilliant first-up win over course and distance last month – was strong to line, holding off the challenge of Miss Roumbini (Zoustar) to score by 0.8 lengths, with the autumn’s Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Feroce (Super Seth) finishing just 0.3 lengths further away in third.
Angel Capital (Harry Angel), sent off the $2.90 favourite ahead of Sepals ($3.50), suffered a troubled passage from barrier 12 and flashed home late to take fourth. The winning time of 1m 21.39s was just 0.19s outside of the course record on the Good 3 surface.
For Cliff Brown, a multiple Group 1-winning trainer before he departed for Singapore in 2007, the win was a first elite-level triumph since his return from that now-obsolete jurisdiction four years ago.
WATCH: Craig Williams brings up a treble on Sepals
