Ceolwulf had to dig deep to secure his first win of the autumn carnival, edging out his rivals by the narrowest of margins in the Neville Sellwood Stakes at Rosehill.
Having claimed victory in last spring’s Group 1 Epsom Handicap and King Charles III Stakes, Ceolwulf is now building towards the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick. Tuesday’s 2000m Group 2 event on a heavy surface was his final lead-up before that major race.
Starting as the online bookmakers $1.50 top pick, Ceolwulf pushed forward early under jockey Chad Schofield, then settled just off the leaders.
Just Fine led and continued to fight in the straight, but Ceolwulf managed to push his head in front at the right time, winning by a nose. Our Gold Hope finished just another nose behind in third.
Trainer Joe Pride was quick to seek Schofield’s insight after the tight win, emphasizing that the performance over 2000m was more critical than the result itself, as it sets the gelding up for his grand final next weekend.
“It wasn’t really the result that counted today,” Pride said.
“It’s easy to say after a race, but it was more about the performance.
“He presented like he was going to win by a couple of lengths but he didn’t do that. It will be interesting to get Chad’s thoughts, because I think he’s got a really good understanding of this horse.
“That was only his second go on a heavy track, and while he went really well on it in the Derby when he was younger, maybe he would prefer something a little bit firmer than that now.”
Pride highlighted that Ceolwulf carried topweight of 59.5kg on challenging ground and stepped up in distance from 1500m, following a narrow defeat in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes.
“And that’s why I wanted to run him over 2000m today because I do believe the majority of my horses, and this horse as well, their second run they have over 2000m they’re going to be better,” Pride said.
“And he needs to be better. He’ll have to be a lot better next week.”
Pride also mentioned Ceolwulf would have a couple of solid gallops before tackling the Queen Elizabeth.
Following Tuesday’s win, Ceolwulf is now the $6 second favourite on betting sites for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, behind Via Sistina, the $1.70 favourite.
Schofield called the performance “tradesman-like,” adding that he had to make an early move due to a tricky barrier draw.
“We were giving some decent horses weight and I thought the only way that we can get beat is if we give him too much to do,” Schofield said.
“After he jumped cleanly I let him stride forward. We beat the draw and then relaxed in the one-one. He ended up getting out nice and early and it was tradesman-like.”
Schofield believes Ceolwulf is more effective on firmer surfaces than the Heavy (8) track he raced on this week.
“I know he ran second in a Derby on a bottomless track but he’s definitely more dynamic on top of the ground,” he said.
