Hayes boys land Victoria Handicap with Nicolini Vito

Nicolini Vito made it back-to-back Victoria Handicap wins for the Lindsay Park stable on Saturday, digging deep to win the Group 3 Victoria Handicap at Caulfield in dramatic fashion.

The gelding, trained by Ben, Will, and J D Hayes, mirrored the feat of stablemate Here To Shock, who won the same race in 2023.

“He’s like a fine wine, he’s getting better as he gets older,” Will Hayes said after the win.

At $11 odds, Nicolini Vito showed his trademark late turn of foot under Luke Currie, weaving through the field to snatch victory from Miss Aria ($9.50) by a half-head, with Roll On High ($11) third just a short neck away.

Now eight years old, Nicolini Vito has won nine races from 42 starts and is closing in on $1 million in career earnings.

Hayes believes the horse could be in the best form of his life and has matured into a more settled racehorse.

“The key with him is that he is relaxing better in the early part of his races which is allowing him to hit the line strongly,” Hayes said.

“I think he could go out in trip again.”

The win ended a run of outs for Nicolini Vito, who hadn’t saluted since May last year at Sandown despite several solid efforts since.

Hayes commended Currie’s calm and calculated ride, which made the difference late.

“We just thought with the rise up to 1400 metres, we want to keep him in a rhythm, keep him comfortable,” Hayes said.

“He didn’t panic around the bend, he took all the runs that came and when the split came, he had the horse underneath him to really savage the line.

“It was a very impressive win.”

Currie admitted the race didn’t go exactly to plan, but was relieved the gaps opened up at the right time.

“Being back on the fence wasn’t part of the plan, but I was lucky enough to pick our way through and get there in time,” Currie said.

“He was the easiest ride. He wasn’t bolting behind them, not crashing and banging. It was nice and easy for him and if the runs came for him, he was going to quicken.

“If they didn’t, then I would be getting the sack.”