The James Cummings-trained Pericles ($19.00) has been rewarded for a lengthy preparation, bolting clear in the $2 million Five Diamonds (1800m) at Rosehill on Saturday afternoon.
The Godolphin five-year-old was set to peak after a testing effort in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) on October 19 and appeared well-placed against his own age group despite being sent around at a big price with Marantelli Bet.
He was aided by an outstanding ride by star hoop Kerrin McEvoy, landing into the one-one throughout the journey from barrier 11.
The complexion of the race changed from the outset, with most speed map followers thinking the Bjorn Baker-trained Amor Victorious ($41.00) would lead at his own leisure; however, Regan Bayliss had other plans, sending $71.00 rank outsider with Bet365, Osipenko to the top from barrier 13.
Yellow Brick ($8.50) crossed to sit on his outside, leaving Pericles and Amor Victorious handing up in the middle stages.
Attrition ($4.00) was heavily backed prior to the jump with Playup and lobbed into the ideal position mid-field with cover, while Territory Express ($4.20) had no luck under Zac Lloyd, buried behind a wall of horses throughout.
It was all Pericles in the end, however, taking luck out of the equation as he careered away with the prize.
2024 Five Diamonds Replay – Pericles
Darren Beadman spoke post-race at Rosehill on the behalf of Godolphin.
“He’s been such a great campaigner for us,” Beadman said.
“He’s been around in everything but the Bong Bong Bike Race. Great effort from the team.
“He (Kerrin McEvoy) rode him such a lovely race from the 400m to the 200m. He’s a little bit suspect at the distance but with the blinkers off today he relaxed well in the run, great training effort by James and Reidy and the team. He’s been a great campaigner.
“He’s such a placid animal. He’s a very placid horse. You just don’t realise how big he is. When you go to put the saddle on him, he’s very tall horse. He’s got a lot of substance to him.
“He was second last year here in the Golden Eagle, just got touched off by the Japanese horse (Obamburumai). But he adds a lot of enthusiasm to the camp.”
Kerrin McEvoy was confident pre-race and couldn’t have been happier with how things unfolded for his mount.
“It was great,” he said.
“James (Cummings) gave me some good confidence, as did Darren and Dizzy as well, they just said ‘try your luck’. We drew wide but we were on a fit horse. He’s been running well.
You look at horses beating him home like Buckaroo, Ceolwulf, they’re all Group One winners.
“It was up to us to try to extricate and get into a spot from that draw but we were able to lob into the one-one and they backed off and I got a bit of a rest. And I was ever so confident once we got to the 600m.”
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