Golden Gift victory for Act Up after thrilling Rosehill contest

Act Up has delivered a notable two-state juvenile double for Lindsay Park, ultimately prevailing over fellow Victorian-trained colt Silent Intent in the prestigious $1 million Golden Gift at Rosehill.

This significant win not only secures Act Up a coveted spot in the upcoming Golden Slipper field thanks to its substantial prizemoney but also marks a successful day for trainers Ben, Will, and J D Hayes. Their stable had earlier celebrated success in the $400,000 Inglis Banner (1000m) at Flemington with their charge Soldi.

Act Up had previously finished fourth behind Soldi in the Debutant Stakes (1000m) in the preceding month. The confirmation of that form line from Melbourne provided the team with added confidence heading into Saturday's event. "To frank the form line was always good. She was too fast for them down there, and it certainly gave us a bit of confidence saddling up today," Will Hayes remarked. "We were really keen to see him over 1100 metres, and we needed every meterage today."

Starting from a wide draw in barrier 16, Act Up ($8) was given ample opportunity by jockey Nash Rawiller to find its rhythm. Rawiller skillfully navigated a passage through the field in the home straight, producing the colt down the outside to narrowly defeat Tim Clark aboard Silent Intent ($5.50) by a margin of a long neck. The first-starter Torshavn ($11) secured third place, a further four lengths behind the leading pair.

"I knew I was going to be hard to beat at the 350 metre mark," Rawiller commented. "He quickened well and came up behind them. Timmy's (jockey Tim Clark's) horse showed a fair bit of fight. I thought we had to dig pretty deep over the last 100 metres to go win the race. I think they are two nice horses going forward. There were a lot of inexperienced ones out there but the real clever ones, they just out their hands."

Will Hayes indicated that the stable's next steps for Act Up would depend on the colt's recovery from the demanding run. "We'll see how he pulls up. There are lots of options, but he's got $1 million in the bank now, so the autumn will certainly have a few big races on the agenda," he stated. "It was a terrific ride by Nash to go back and through. We were beaten for early speed, we were just hoping for an over-correction, which is what we got. Full credit to the horse, he handled the occasion. And full credit to the team. Our two-year-olds are on fire."

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