Captain Envious (+3300) has shown a strong turn of foot to burst through a small gap in the final stages of the Caulfield straight to take out the Group 3 Easter Cup, giving Paul Preusker and Thomas Stockdale their first success in the race.
With Deny Knowledge (+1500) engaged it was always going to be a stiff 2000m contest, as the leader put a good gap on the rest of the field by the 600m mark, allowing the winner to absorb the pressure just worse than midfield.
As the leading pack hit the 200m mark, Deny Knowledge still had the lead but Jennilala (+600), Future History (+1500) and Captain Envious were making their runs, but it was Stockdale on the eventual winner who had to get his elbows out to push through a small gap as the other two rolled in on him.
The son of Savabeel pushed through the gap and let down with a burst of acceleration to finish over the top of the tiring leader, while Aberfeldie Boy (+5000) was an eye-catcher down the outside as he flew home for fourth place.
The race favourite First Immortal (+190) didn’t get a lot of room on the inside of runners at the top of the straight, but he just whacked away late and was a bit disappointing for favourite backers.
2024 Easter Cup Replay – Captain Envious
Sonya Brockenbauer was on course to represent the Paul Preusker stable and she spoke post-race.
“It was a fairly small gap and when it started to close up I thought ‘oh, we have lost it here’, but he managed to tough it out, push through and got the job done,” Brockenbauer said.
“He’s a little bit of a tricky horse.
“He’s been here since half-past 11 this morning, so there has been a fair bit of walking up until now, but he makes it all worthwhile.
“Very happy with him, great job by Paul (Preusker) and all of the team back home, excellent stuff.
“He thinks so much of this horse, so I reckon he would have had a few bob on him.”
Thomas Stockdale picked up a riding double at Caulfield on Saturday and he spoke about the win post-race.
“Look, it was tight, and I had both horses coming in on me, so more credit to his win; he had to punch through that hole and still get the job done,” Stockdale said.
“He took a while to pull up, so he will be looking for further now, and I think he can go on with it now.
“He really enjoyed the fast tempo throughout and being able to camp off them and present late; I think there is more in store for him.”
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