Bayliss wins feature races just two days apart
Just two days after claiming his first Group One win in the Newmarket Handicap, young jockey Regan Bayliss has added the Group Two Adelaide Cup to his resume.
Bayliss won Saturday’s famous 1200m-straight track sprint at Flemington on the Lindsay Parktrained Redkirk Warrior and rode Annus Mirabilis for Caulfield trainer Stuart Webb to win the 3200m-feature at Morphettville on Monday.
Bayliss, who also celebrated his 20th birthday on Monday, said he knew he was on the best stayer after Annus Mirabilis beat Double Bluff by 1-1/4 lengths with favourite Master Of Arts another length third.
‘‘He is a super stayer and has a great set of lungs,’’ Bayliss told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
‘‘I knew the distance would not be an issue. I won the Bagot on him and he turned his form around from last start when he had no luck.’’
Webb has plans to turn Annus Mirabilis into a jumper but first he will try to add the Group One Sydney Cup, also over 3200m, to his record.
Meanwhile Group One winner Awesome Rock has been retired, with connections now looking for a suitable home at stud.
The Leon and Troy Corstenstrained Awesome Rock won the Group One Emirates Stakes at Flemington last spring but failed to fire in his most recent starts this preparation, including when ninth in Saturday’s Australian Cup.
Plans to go to Dubai for this month’s Dubai Turf at Meydan were shelved after his Australian Cup performance and the decision was made on Monday afternoon to retire him.
‘‘He hasn’t raced up to expectations and we think the inoculations have flattened him,’’ Troy Corstens said.
‘‘So after careful consideration with the ownership group the decision was made to retire him.
‘‘Now we’ll negotiate a sale to a stud and hopefully we can find a very nice stud where he’s going to blossom.’’
Corstens said Awesome Rock had been a fantastic horse for the stable and his connections. Awesome Rock won four of his 28 starts with another seven placings for prize money of just over $2 million.
Along with his Emirates Stakes win last spring, Awesome Rock also won a Group Two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes and was first past the post in last year’s Australian Cup only to be relegated to second on protest.