Godolphin now has a headache in terms of who will run for them in The Everest next Saturday – but trainer James Cummings says it’s a good headache to have.
That was after Paulele and Ingratiating – both described as “bulls” – were outstanding in the Schillaci Stakes (1100m), finshing 1-2 at Caulfield.
James McDonald once again showed his brilliance in the saddle, asking his gelding to poke his nose through a hole while sitting in fourth and just over 100m to go.
2022 Schillaci Stakes Replay
The star stallion obliged.
“James was very cool about how he was approaching the race, which was exactly how I wanted him to be,” Cummings told Racing.com.
“He remained 1.5 to two off in the early stages, but he wasn’t worried to be in the box seat turning for home.
“It’s easy to be worried about being pocketed, but for the energy that he had to burst through the gap he looked bloody good the last half-furlong to furlong getting to the line.
“He’s a very impressive sprinter, and the stablemate Ingratiating is a very good horse too.”
Cummings said both Paulele and Ingratiating would be very competitive in the world’s richest race on turf next Saturday, depending on which stallion Godolphin opts for.
“I backed Paulele up once with confidence in the Randwick carnival and he ran third,” Cummings said.
“I backed up Ingratiating into a Blue Diamond. He was only just beaten. So both are capable.
“Meanwhile, the Manikato is sitting there and they’re both going to run slashing races if we hold them back for that.
“So we’ve got some options with both. They’re both well and truly capable of graduating to our roster.
“They’re cracking horses with excellent two-year-old form, good-looking horses, so we have to look after them.
“We’ve got to talk about what horse we run in the Everest. Both these bulls are capable of a seven-day backup.”
McDonald was his customary cool self when a small hole opened up for him and Paulele.
“He was the right horse to take the gap at that point in time, and he exploded through,” he said.
“Luckily, he was good enough. He was right in for a performance like that. It was terrific first-up.”
McDonald said Godolphin seemingly cannot put a foot wrong at the moment, adding they could not make a bad call for the Everest with a few high-quality sprinters to choose from.
“They’ve got an arsenal full of horses, so Kementari (fourth in the Premiere Stakes at Randwick last Saturday) and Ingratiating just ran super,” he said.
“So if it’s not Paulele, I’m sure they’ll have a good one to fill the slot with. But he’s definitely up to it and he’s definitely a Group 1 horse.
“If he lines up he’ll be competitive.”
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