“But we also have options with how loose he is to move him on. He was good then and as he’s progressed through his career, he’s stuck in that rotation, but if he can go into the 1800s, 2000s, that’s another door open.”
The sandpaper is resistant to rough running
The Bjorn Baker stable will be looking for another target for Sandpaper after the six-year-old came on hard late to hold off listed stablemate Thunderlips in the Carrington Stakes (1400m) to give Nash Rawiller a riding treble at Randwick on Saturday.
Sandpaper ($2.70 favorite) led the $200,000 feature, beating Thunderlips by a long neck. It was the former Godolphin galloper’s first win in nine months and came after sixth last start in the Buffering at Eagle Farm.
A $130,000 purchase for Godolphin’s Darby Racing, Sandpaper won four times by association, including the $250,000 Newcastle Stakes.
“He was fantastic,” Baker assistant coach Luke Hilton said.
“He was really tough in Brisbane, never relaxed and they were attacking him from three arrows all the way and I thought he held his ground and boxed really well.
“Bjorn gave him a bit of extra time between runs when he came back and he looked fantastic in the yard and his work during the week was great.
“Nash gets along really well with him, and he’s found a lot of them when he’s needed.
Rawiller previously won with Promitto and Kingdom Undersiege.
Freedman’s Young Summer Hopes
Michael Freedman has kept his options open with Satin Summer after she became the next contender in his bid for back-to-back Golden Slippers with victory on debut at Randwick.
The Written Tycoon-Satin Shoes mare, a $6 chance bred and owned by Belinda Bateman, led under Tommy Berry and kicked late to win by one and a half lengths over favorite Zambales in the 1000m 2YO Handicap.
Freedman, who won the Slipper with Marhoona last year, said Satin Summer’s journey to the races had been delayed by the temperature during her preparation and he felt she would improve in the run. In March, she was from $101 to $26 for the Slipper.
“There would be several options,” Freedman said of his next run.
“Coming back here for the Pierro Plate, or just having her tick off one of the leading fillies… or even going to Melbourne for the Blue Diamond Prelude filly in two weeks.”
“Of course we’d like to try and get a blacktype for her somewhere.
Freedman already has Breeders Plate winner Incognito ($8) and Godolphin’s Outspan ($34), who won at Rosehill last week, in Slipper contention.
He said Incognito would return for next week’s Canonbury Stakes at Rosehill, while Outspan was likely to return for the Pierro Plate on February 14 at Randwick.
Berry and Freedman made it a fourth-place double as Godolphin filly Cinsault ($2.60 favourite) won easily. Berry was then sidelined for the remainder of the card due to illness.
Nash shoves Dunn into the contender
Kingdom Undersiege cemented his Country Championships contender accreditation in his first Highway Handicap at Randwick on Saturday, giving jockey Nash Rawiller an early double.
The Peter Snowden-trained former four-year-old I Am Invincible ($4.20) raced behind favorite and leader Satin Stiletto in the Grade 3 1200m Highway before Rawiller broke him late to win by a neck. It was the fourth win from five starts since Kingdom Undersiege came to Dunn’s Murwillumbah stable. It was an $800,000 yearling purchase that was optioned online in September 2024 for $75,000.
Rawiller said Kingdom Undersiege would “certainly get the 1400m” from Saturday’s performance, putting him in the frame for the Country Championships series.
The effort gave Dunn back-to-back Highway wins following Considered’s success at Rosehill last week and Rawiller’s double race-to-race. The David Atkins-trained Promitto ($8) cruised to victory in the Midway Handicap, breaking a 17-month drought for the former Group 2 two-year-old winner.
A new chapter for Gatsby’s
Trainer Joe Pride was once again optimistic about Gatsby’s victory after the much-maligned four-year-old broke through on his second start in his stable to end a run of outs by the listed Rosebud in August 2024.
The former Chris Waller-trained galloper was seventh on Pride debut three weeks ago and improved on Saturday at Randwick to win the 1200m benchmark 78 for colts and geldings by a length over Bundeena.
Pride believed there was “a fair amount of improvement” left in Gatsby’s, which on Saturday recouped about half of what his new contacts paid for it.
“We’ve got the carnival coming up so it’s going to be a bit tricky for him but I think he’s a horse that hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet so hopefully we can get a few more,” Pride said.
“He was bought to race up north but they said they would try him out in Sydney first.
“You think he could win it again, but it was the right race.
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