IRISHMAN DOUBLES UP WITH GROUP 1 SUCCESS
JOCKEY John Allen didn’t need the stewards to confirm his second Group 1 in a week after the running of Saturday’s Victoria Derby.
Allen endured a tense wait before stewards allowed him to keep last Saturday’s Cox Plate on State Of Rest but Hitotsu had 1¾ lengths to spare at the end of the 2500m Derby.
This was the Irishman’s second Derby success in four years, after riding Extra Brut to victory in the 2018 edition.
Hitotsu, the son of Japanese star Maurice, ended the $2m race as a contest when he hit top gear at the 300m.
CLASSY mare Colette proved she wasn’t just a wet-tracker as Damien Oliver waved his magic wand to produce a stunning winning ride for the ages in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m).
A year earlier, Colette won the rich Golden Eagle on a heavy track at Rosehill but has now scored back-to-back wins in Melbourne and secured her second career Group 1.
It has been a masterful training effort from James Cummings considering Colette suffered a setback in Melbourne which ruled her out of Caulfield Cup contention.
But her win in the Tristarc
Stakes was superb and the only doubts going into the Empire Rose was that she didn’t encounter her favoured rain-affected surface. Prior to the Empire Rose, Colette had only won once on a good track and that was in a modest benchmark race at Kembla Grange in March 2020.
But punters who let her start $13 in the Empire Rose didn’t count on her class or the incredible ride she got from Oliver who secured his 124th Group 1 win and scooped an extra $1m race bonus for the Godolphin stable.
It was Oliver’s second Group 1 win of the spring carnival after claiming the Caulfield Guineas on Anamoe.
But this seemed extra special and Oliver’s voice dripped with emotion after slicing his way from the field near the inside to prevail over gallant runner-up Mystic Journey.
He was humbled by support from the Blue Army.
“Colette got a beautiful run through and it is nice when you are on one that is going quicker than the gaps (are closing,” Oliver said.