Saturday 25th July
Coming into the final week of July, the winter carnival spotlight shifted to South Australia where Morphettville staged the only metropolitan black-type action in the country. The feature was the Listed Lightning Stakes for the two and three-year-olds and it proved a one-act affair for the Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Cavalry Girl. Sent out a short-priced favourite, she justified the confidence of punters when she exploded clear under Harry Grace to score her second stakes victory. After settling just off the speed, Cavalry Girl quickly put the race beyond doubt when asked for her effort and comfortably accounted for Yuuki and Bardigrub. It was a performance that suggested she could be a filly worth following when the quality of spring racing begins to lift.
The Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield produced one of the most impressive performances of the weekend, with former Western Australian galloper Cosmic Crusader announcing himself as a genuine spring carnival contender. Having his first start for trainer Andrea Leek, the Group 1 Northerly Stakes winner settled beautifully for Daniel Stackhouse before bursting through along the inside in the straight and putting his rivals away with a devastating turn of foot. The five-year-old raced clear to defeat the in-form Winnasedge by two-and-a-half lengths, with 2024 Bletchingly Stakes winner Recommendation battling on gamely for third. The victory not only delivered Leek her first stakes success, but it also stamped Cosmic Crusader as a horse capable of measuring up in much bigger races later in the spring, with targets such as the P.B. Lawrence Stakes and Memsie Stakes already being discussed. Such was the authority of the win that connections are even daring to dream about a Cox Plate campaign.
Across in Western Australia, the upset of the weekend came in the H.G. Bolton Sprint at Belmont Park where roughie Fluro Neuro shocked punters at odds of $61. In a thrilling finish he was able to cling on from Snowdome by the narrowest of margins, with Final Siren close behind in third. Winter racing often throws up surprise results, but few would have expected Fluro Neuro to defeat a field containing several of the state’s more established sprinters.
International attention meanwhile centred on Ascot and the running of the prestigious King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Twelve months after finishing runner-up, Kalpana gained her redemption when she turned the tables on defending champion Calandagan. Colin Keane produced a patient ride before asking the mare to lengthen approaching the final furlong and she responded brilliantly, fighting off the favourite to give trainer Andrew Balding a memorable first victory in Britain’s midsummer championship event. In a race packed with international Group 1 performers, Kalpana’s toughness and determination ultimately proved the difference, with Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini completing the placings in a world-class renewal of the famous contest.