3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes following Kingofwallstreet winning the Group 3 Sportsbet Classic at Caulfield on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Kingofwallstreet (M Cumani/M Dee) - $8.50
2nd: China Sea (J Sargeant/L Currie) - $9.00
3rd: Keeneland (T Busuttin & N Young/J Allen) - $2.20 fav
Winning Time: 2:09.89 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Nose x Long Head
Kingofwallstreet nails China Sea right on the post over 2000m at Caulfield @CumaniRacing pic.twitter.com/WF84Dwlf7m
— Racing.com (@Racing) October 19, 2024
Winning Trainer: Matt Cumani
On the run: "As soon as we were going there was a kind of crawl all the way around and I was very worried about it. We thought that might happen, it happened last year as well and we wanted to try and be a bit closer this year but Mick Dee rode him beautifully and great to get the win."
"I just thought the angle was a bit tricky but he's a tough little horse and it's great to see him do well."
Derby next: "Of course, yeah. I think he'll relish the trip and I think over that distance he will be a bit more versatile. It was a good test today to see that he can break well and put himself in a decent spot. It was good to see him on some soft ground. I don't think we'll get that on Derby Day, but we could, and at least now we know he' s versatile."
"The Derby's a race we really try and target. We've got another one running in Adelaide in about 45 minutes, hopefully he can do something as well. It'll be great to have a bit of a team going there. But it's fantastic and a huge credit to our team who have got this horse here."
"Holly who rides in the morning, Molly who also does a fair bit and is away on holiday at the moment so missing out. But it's great to have a victory like this to sort of pat the whole team on the back."
Happy to come here over a maiden: "No, I was pretty keen to come here to be honest after his last performance. I thought that gave me the confidence to try something a bit harder. I thought at this point there was no point going for a maiden. He sort of hopefully had done enough to get in anyway, but it's nice to secure it today with a good win."
Different challenge today: "We were worried because in his last start, they set a ferocious tempo up front and it sort of set up a little bit for him. He had to do the hard way coming around the whole field, but I thought today that we were going to go slower and it was going to be difficult, but Mick Dee had it under control and got going nice and early and it was terrific to see him do it off a slow pace as well and on this sort of ground. It means he' s quite versatile and very exciting going forward."
Compared to Hit The Shot: "They're quite similar horses in type, they're not big, they're very athletic, got great temperaments. Difficult to know which one is better. I' d like to think this one because I don't think Hit The Shot's Derby was a particularly strong one. So hopefully, if this is a stronger derby, this is a better horse."
Winning Jockey: Michael Dee
On the tempo: "Yeah, it was very slow. I popped out quite early down the side just to try and build into it and then the two leaders really quickened up and almost left us flat-footed. So I was lucky that we were in a position that we could really find our top and it was a good effort because I think the second horse actually was in front of us and credit to this horse, he really stuck his head out and he tried hard, so onwards to the Derby, I'm guessing."
Battle to the line: "Well, I always felt confident. I was confident that he was really going to pick up, but it was just a matter of getting it out of him and not sure he really had the confidence to go past those other two and put them away. I felt like there was a little bit left in the tank and it was a ding-dong to the line, but I felt like he was doing his best work that last 50 metres. So it's good signs going forward."
