The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained North England ($3.80) has fended off all challengers to claim the Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon, kicking off proceedings for Day 1 of The Championships.
The son of Farnan was looking to bounce back after producing a mid-field finish in the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) on March 22, with a drop back to 1100m seemingly suiting the jump-and-run style two-year-old colt.
Tim Clark was happy to give up the inside running rail early, as the Ciaron Maher-trained Stormland () launched out of the gates and crossed to the front under the urgings of Jason Collett.
It allowed King Of Pop () and Beskar ($3.50) to stalk the leading pair throughout, while the likes of Strada Varenna ($10) was ridden cold by Zac Purton after missing the start from stall eight.
North England dropped Stormland as the pair hit the turn for home, while King Of Pop was trying to get clear running under Zac Lloyd, with Ben Melham refusing to shift racing room aboard Beskar as the pair got into a bumping duel in the final furlong.
It allowed North England to pinch a winning break, with King Of Pop surging into a clear second when it was all over.
Adrian Bott was delighted with the win as he spoke post-race.
“It’s really satisfying,” said Bott.
“It’s been a very frustrating campaign with him. The horse has got so much talent, and things haven’t necessarily gone right for him throughout the campaign, so to capitalise and finish on a good note, I guess, is very satisfying for the owners and connections.
“Obviously they put a lot in looking for these types of horses and colts, so to get a nice win for a talented two-year-old on a big day like today is very satisfying.
“He’s got the great temperament for it. He’s just a naturally precocious horse, which he’s shown from early days. He’s got the mindset and constitution to be able to keep up and sustain that sort of preparation. I think he’ll train on as well.”
“We’ll tip him out now, most likely, get him set for a three-year-old campaign and hopefully we can have a smooth run at things and he can show his talent.”
Tim Clark then spoke to the win and what distance may be best for North England moving into the spring.
“It was good to see him do that and bounce back,” said Clark.
“Obviously it’s great to start the day like that as well. I thought that he presented the fittest that he’s been all prep today and just trying to play catch up might have just taken the edge off him.
“He was really well in himself today, really fresh, he’s pinged out, put himself on speed and toughed it out well. And I think that maybe at this stage that 1100m is a lovely sweet spot for him.
“Hopefully next time when he strengthens a little bit more he can extend that brilliance out to 1200m and open a few more options, but he’s done a fantastic job throughout his two-year-old career.
“He’s probably banked the best part of $800,000 for the season, so he’s been there from day dot and he deserves probably a good spell now.”
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