Gelding Hughes smashes Caulfield record in Victoria Handicap
Racing moves at a rapid pace over 12 months.
A year back, the gelding Hughes took out a benchmark 70 over 1400m at Caulfield soon after joining trainer Gavin Bedggood. This Saturday saw him become a Group 3 victor in the Victoria Handicap (1400m), breaking the track record in the bargain.
Ridden with precision by Jett Stanley, Hughes ($19) came from off the pace, slipping between horses to win by 1½ lengths ahead of Athanatos ($11), with Meridius ($9.50) one length further adrift in third.
The trainer Bedggood revealed the win exceeded his expectations.
"He won a benchmark 70 on this day last year," Bedggood said.
"But he's a very easy horse to train. We learnt that fresh is best and we just try and space his runs.
"He was four weeks between runs today. He doesn't do a lot of work. He had a gallop on Monday morning and then we've pretty much left him alone.
"It seems to work well for him, but I thought he might be getting to the end of it.
"He got very hot pre-race when I was saddling him up and I was worried about that, but it was a great ride and full credit to the horse."
After the gelding's Echuca Cup (1400m) victory, Bedggood kept instructions to Stanley basic.
"What I said was ride him 'second half'," he explained.
"He has to be ridden where he's comfortable. We've tried riding him close in lesser grade and it hasn't worked for him.
"John Allen got it right last time and Jett executed it to a tee today.
"He really likes that ducking and weaving sort of ride. He's not a big horse, but he loves getting amongst other horses and it works very well for him."
Hughes is off to the seaside for a short rest while his owners consider future options.
A potential aim mentioned by Bedggood is the Golden Mile (1600m) at Bendigo next month.
"He'll go and have his week at the beach," Bedggood said.
"Maybe the Golden Mile could be a race as that works within the four-week time frame, but he'll tell us."
View racing betting markets for the Victoria Handicap style events on reliable online bookmakers.
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