Dropping back to the mile has paid dividends for the Joseph Pride-trained Ceolwulf ($4.20), claiming a dominant victory in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon.
The son of Tavistock was rock-hard fit fourth-up into the campaign, and after a testing run over 2000m behind Eliyas in the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m), it turned out to be the perfect setup dropping down to 54kgs.
The race was run at a genuine clip throughout, courtesy of the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained pair of Major Beel (17.00) and Royal Patronage ($6.50), while Kovalica ($7.50) got into the perfect stalking position behind the speed.
The James Cummings-trained Tom Kitten ($11.00) had no luck from the wide draw under Tommy Berry, with the son of Harry Angel proving gallant in the defeat, however, it left Ceolwulf with the perfect three-wide trail throughout, allowing Chad Schofield to go through the gears and claim an impressive 1.4-legnth win.
The trend of four-year-olds having great success in this race continues, with five of the last six winners in that age bracket claiming Group 1 glory in the Epsom Handicap.
2024 Group 1 Epsom Handicap Replay – Ceolwulf
Joe Pride was delighted with the performance and didn’t rule out taking on the older horses in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) later in the spring.
“That was fantastic,” said Pride.
“We knew he had the right sort of profile coming into it and to see him let down like that, it’s very, very satisfying. He’s just a good horse on the rise.
“He’s just going to keep getting better with age and he’s so exciting. That was a real buzz.
“Yet to discover that (what his best distance is). He could well back up in the Hill Stakes next week but I haven’t ruled out, you could come back here for the King Charles.
“There’s a lot of options. Let’s just sit on it for now and enjoy that.”
It was the first time Chad Schofield has tasted Group 1 success since 2014 and couldn’t have been happier with the result.
“It’s a good thrill,” said Schofield.
“I was very confident today but an Epsom is a really hard race to win, you need everything to go right.
“I didn’t feel everything quite went perfectly, I wasn’t in a great spot. I thought I’d be much closer than where I was and the pace was quite muddling, but one good aspect of that was that I was a bit wide and able to flow.
“I was really blown away by his turn of foot. I know he had 54kg but he put the race away very quickly.
“As soon as I clicked him up, I was confident I was the winner immediately. He had a blistering turn of foot.
“I was in Hong Kong for seven years and they’re hard to win over there (Group 1’s).
“I still feel like I’m finding my feet here back in Australia, but I’m so thankful to Joe and his stable for giving me the opportunity today. I know this was a very sought-after ride and thanks to the whole team and the owners.”
Ceolwulf is now on the third line of betting at $8.00 with horse racing bookmakers for the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) on October 19.
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