Sir Les impresses with dominant Randwick victory
Trainer Craig Carmody, who experienced significant jockeying triumphs at Randwick, has leveraged his past expertise to guide the promising sprinter Sir Les to an important win at the iconic venue.
Carmody's career as a jockey was highlighted by his partnership with the Group 1 winner Intergaze, famously spoiling Octagonal's swansong in the 1997 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick. He continues to ride his own track work, with Sir Les being his current focus.
The three-year-old had demonstrated potential in his initial provincial starts but became his own worst adversary at Rosehill in May, exhibiting over-excitement and ultimately losing as the favourite. This prompted Carmody to take a different tack.
Carmody opted to give the horse a break and concentrate on teaching him to better control his speed. The benefits of this approach were evident on Saturday as Sir Les ($4.40) delivered a decisive 3-1/4 length victory over Benevac ($2.40 favourite) in the Sydney Roosters Partners Handicap (1100m).
"He's a bit aggressive, so I've spent a lot of time on his slower work," Carmody explained. "When he'd try to get ahead of me, I'd get him back to virtually a trot and slow canter, and eventually he would give to me."
"Repetition, day after day, got it through his head that you don't have to run through the bridle."
Having spent two decades in the saddle, Carmody was granted a trainer's licence in 2005 and has since celebrated stakes race successes with horses such as Single and Everage.
Sir Les's dam is Everage, and the inspiration for the colt's name comes from the celebrated characters Sir Les Patterson and Dame Edna Everage, created by the renowned comedian Barry Humphries.
Carmody conveyed his pleasure at Sir Les's return to form, making a humorous comparison to his former charge, Intergaze.
"It was great to see. Like Intergaze," he commented. "I'm being very kind to Sir Les. He is nothing like Intergaze yet. But he gives me a great turn of foot, so that's something to work on."
The plan for Sir Les is to now be spelled, with an eye towards the summer and early autumn sprint races.
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