Rivellino has backed up his Inglis Milennium victory with an impressive win in the Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon.
Although the Kris Lees-trained colt was yet to taste defeat, the son of Too Darn Hot was sent out as a +450 third favourite with BlondeBet, sitting behind Shaggy (+140) and Comedy (+320) in the market.
Valedictorian (+4000) and Shaggy led the field throughout the 1200m journey; however, the rougher of the two leaders gave a strong kick turning for home when the race favourite struggled to find at the 400m mark.
Jason Collett had a good hold on the eventual winner as they peeled off heels to make their run, while Quietly Arrogant (+650) and Skyhook (+850) switched back to the inside to finish off.
Going past the 200m mark, Rivellino still had to make up a length on Valedictorian, but with Collett throwing everything at his colt, he quickly took over by the 100m pole.
Quietly Arrogant and Skyhook continued to charge through along the inside rail, but it was to no avail, as Rivellino held onto claim victory by a head on the line.
Kris Lees spoke about the victory post-race.
“Yeah, really happy with him. They didn’t go that hard but Jason summed it up, he let him stride up into a three-deep line with cover,” Lees said.
“I just stressed to him to get cover in the race, as much as we wanted to win today I didn’t want him having a tough run facing the breeze, but he let down really well.
“It was a bunched finish but he’s a smart colt and he’ll make his presence felt come three weeks’ time.
“He’s a proper horse, this bloke.
“We look forward to getting there (to the Golden Slipper). He’s pretty versatile and I think on a really hot speed you’ll see a better product again.
“But he was good today. He got a lovely ride from Jason to let him stride up into a three-deep line and that was a winning move off what, without looking at the times, looked a pretty even type of race on times. But he let down really well.
“He let him stride into the race at the right time and that was the winning move but he fought off a few late. It was a good effort.”
Jason Collett echoed similar thoughts to Lees, stating that Rivellino is a classy colt in the making.
“It probably played out nicely once Hillier gave me that cover and a drag into it. So I was close enough. He’s sharp,” Collett said.
“When he let go, he put them away easily. If anything he probably floated a bit once he was in front, but I was pretty impressed.
“We were always going to concede we were going to be back there. We didn’t want to risk not having cover and not seeing out the 1200m strongly.
“It’s not our job to be chasing Shaggy if he was to get a soft lead, which I think everyone probably predicted. We just wanted to make sure our horse did things right, and luckily it played out into our hands.
“He was very unassuming going to the start, very casual, but once the gates opened he’s sharp.
“Kris was a bit worried if we didn’t get cover he could fall in a hole so we were pretty neutral early, knowing we were going to give a lead to Shaggy who looked to get it pretty easy.”
“You know what, if he had a gate he can hold a spot. He does have barrier speed, he’s got race sense. He’s a pretty good package.”
Rivellino is rated a +1400 chance with horse racing bookmakers in the Group 1 Golden Slipper futures markets.
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