Ninth Legion a cut above
THE rise of Ninth Legion has reached a new level, with the four-year-old now a Group 2 winner of the Villiers Stakes, vindicating the difficult decision to geld him.
The son of Fastnet Rock showed talent as a younger horse but his attention was elsewhere while the star colts he was chasing — Pierro, All Too Hard, It’s A Dundeel and Your Song — were more focused.
At the beginning of this season, the Hawkes training team recommended the operation and owners Segenhoe bit the bullet and the results changed, culminating in yesterday’s Villiers (1550m) at Randwick, a race shortened following the meeting’s transfer to the inside Kensington track.
‘‘He is still a work in progress but all credit goes to Segenhoe for agreeing to geld him,’’ Michael Hawkes said.
‘‘The Villiers has been the plan this preparation and it has worked out well,’’ he said. ‘‘It was a good, tough win.’’ Queenslander Listen Son set a steady pace, while Peter Robl had Ninth Legion ($9) travelling comfortably behind him.
When the leader weakened in the straight, Robl made his move on Ninth Legion to hold off Limes ($ 12) by threequarters of a length, with the same margin to third placegetter Alma’s Fury ($15).
‘‘Peter rode him perfectly,’’ Hawkes said.
He was humming going to the barriers and there’s no reason he can’t step up again
‘‘He has developed a real affinity with him.’’
Robl has won four races from five rides on Ninth Legion but his association goes back even further.
‘‘I don’t want to give away my age but I also won on his mother, Xaar’s Jewel, who was trained by the late Roger Hoysted,’’ Robl said.
‘‘ This horse was spot- on today. He was humming going to the barriers and there’s no reason he can’t step up again.’’
The Villiers win gives Ninth Legion automatic entry to the $3 million Doncaster Mile in April. Hawkes was reluctant to look that far ahead but said it was on the radar.
‘‘He has always had the talent and was racing against all those good horses at three,’’ he said.
‘‘He ran a close fifth in the Group 1 TJ Smith at two. There’s a lot for him.’’
Kerrin McEvoy, the rider of Limes, said his mount had every chance. ‘‘He just lacks that killer punch to win a race like that.’’
Alma’s Fury’s jockey Blake Shinn said last year’s Villiers runner-up had done his best.
‘‘I couldn’t ask much more of my horse except to win,’’ he said.