Godolphin further strengthened its Golden Slipper hand with Corniche scoring an impressive Skyline Stakes win, while the Chris Waller-trained Lazzago ended the unbeaten run of Magic Millions winner Skirt The Law in the Sweet Embrace Stakes.
That was the wash-up from the two juvenile races at Randwick on Saturday, three weeks out from the $5 million Golden Slipper.
Corniche ($7) was making his Sydney debut after a trio of minor placings in Melbourne, including a third behind stablemate Barber in a Blue Diamond Stakes lead-up.
His race experience was telling on Saturday, the youngster putting himself in a trailing position before descending on the leaders to win the Skyline Stakes (1200m) by 1-1/2 lengths over Shinko ($3.20 unibet fav) with Bases Loaded ($8) another short neck away.
Trainer James Cummings wasn’t surprised to see Corniche produce a dominant performance and said having a three-week break into the Golden Slipper would suit the colt perfectly.
“It has been building for the horse to produce that performance and that’s the indication of a pretty smart horse,” Cummings said.
“He’s had four good galvanising starts now and I think that’s the best of them.
“He is a lovely athletic colt and we’d have to be delighted with that performance, a nice cruisy win in that sort of Group Two heading into the Slipper in three weeks’ time.”
Godolphin is set to have a strong presence in the Slipper with the likes of Cylinder, Barber and Exploring also in line for the feature.
Champion trainer Chris Waller will have at least one Slipper runner after Lazzago ($9.50) claimed the Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) for the fillies, finishing strongly down the outside to nab Facile ($11) and Blanc De Blanc ($4.60).
Ridden by visiting jockey Hugh Bowman, who is now based in Hong Kong, Lazzago claimed the scalp of the previously undefeated Skirt The Law, who sat on the speed and was overhauled late to finish seventh.
Waller wasn’t surprised to see Lazzago bounce back after having little luck when fourth in the Inglis Millennium and said the three-week break to the 2023 Golden Slipper would be “perfect”.
“Her run the other day was fantastic in the Millennium, she got held up in a tricky spot,” Waller said.
“She’s in the field so you’ll do everything you can to have her at her best on her day.
“It’s all about barrier draws and having a horse with ability, which she’s got.”