Lord Of Biscay delivers quinella for Lees in Championships Final
Kris Lees keeps dominating the Provincial-Midway Championships Final with his sixth victory in the $1 million showdown, completing a one-two finish as well.
It replicated the previous year's top three in altered sequence, with Lord Of Biscay ($3.50 fav), last season's second, powering away to win by three lengths over barnmate Imposant ($21), and Matcha Latte ($4), the reigning champion, in third spot.
Having captured half of the 12 runnings of the Provincial-Midway Championships Final (1400m) since its 2015 inception under adjusted rules, the unassuming Novocastrian credited his entire crew.
"We're the biggest stable in the provincials, we're entitled to have a good representation, but full credit to all the staff at home to get these horses presented on the day and they raced really well," Lees said.
"He got a perfect run in transit. I was very confident in the run with him. He was getting all the favours he needed, and he reacted well."
One individual linked to Lees who might not be fully pleased is his wife Kristy, part-owner of the runner-up Imposant.
"My wife owns that one. Anyway, she ran well in the race last year, and she has run well again today, so good result," he said of Imposant.
Imported from Europe, Lord Of Biscay needed time to settle into Aussie tracks but has excelled in recent months.
He should head towards the Tamworth Cup (1400m) on April 24 to earn a start in the Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day, improving on last year's seventh.
Jockey James McDonald commended trainer Kris Lees for preparing Lord Of Biscay perfectly for this major.
"Kris is a champion. He's such a good trainer. He knows how to 'prep' these horses up," McDonald said.
"He told me a couple of weeks ago, 'you want to be riding this horse'. He's in career-best form, and he felt enormous today."
Previous triumphs for Lees in the race feature Spangler (2023), Kinloch (2022), Cristal Breeze (2021), Serene Miss (2018) and Danish Twist in 2016.
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