By David Nagel
The richest prize in Australian thoroughbred racing came tantalisingly close to returning to Pakenham on Saturday after I Wish I Win ran a magnificent second in the $20million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick.
Co-trained at Pakenham by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, and ridden by Luke Nolen, I Wish I Win was looking to make it a perfect three-from-three in visits to Sydney – having previously taken out the $10million Golden Eagle and Group-1 TJ Smith Stakes.
I Wish I Win drew barrier one for the world’s richest race on turf, and was camped midfield on the fence throughout the journey.
Nolen had trouble extricating him off the fence in the straight, but rattled home late to finish second to Joe Pride’s star-galloper Think About It, with his stablemate Private Eye finishing in third place.
Moody said I Wish I Win was magnificent in defeat.
“The winner is a good horse,” he said.
“He’s a winner…all credit to him…and our bloke ran super.”
Under jockey Sam Clipperton, Think About It enjoyed a dream run just behind the leaders before making his winning run in the home straight.
I Wish I Win burst through between runners late but Think About it prevailed by a long neck.
Pride has won 17 Group-1 races in a training career spanning just over two decades, but said, “That’s the big one, that’s the one we wanted to tick off”.
“I don’t think I’ll feel pressure anymore in any race after that,” Pride added.
“You feel like Edmund Hillary – once you’ve climbed Mount Everest, what do you do after that?
“I’d love to climb it again, but it’s not going to feel as hard next time.”
Pride said he was convinced the Moody-Coleman-trained I Wish I Win was the main danger to his stable’s pair and that’s the way it played out in front of a crowd of 46,498.
The news was better for the Moody-Coleman combination at Caulfield on Saturday, with their talented four-year-old mare She Dances making a one-act affair of the $200,000 Group-3 Northwood Plume Stakes (1200m).
Ridden by Linda Meech, She Dances camped just off a hot speed set up by race-favourite Red Card before gobbling her up at the 200 and racing clear for victory.
The daughter of Street Boss/Charleston Dancer has now won six of her 12 races and amassed career earnings of $650,000.
“This horse and Linda (Meech) they just gel so well together; thrilled for Linda to get this win and also for the connections of this horse,” Coleman said.
“She’s a really tough little mare, she’s got a great record over 1200 and when the race panned out the way that it did, I thought ‘this has really worked in our favour.”
Meech said the step up to 1200, after a first-up run at 1100, was the key to a winning formula.
“She’s done really well on her break and I thought she just carried a bit of excess last start, but getting to the 1200 takes the pressure off,” Meech explained.
“She can dictate to them, she can relax, she gets to a really good cruising speed.
“She’s got a high cruising speed anyway and over 1200 she really relaxes.”
Meech said Moody and Coleman had prepared the mare perfectly for the race.
“A huge thanks to Peter (Moody) and Katherine (Coleman) and all the team back at Pakenham because they’ve done a great job with her,” she said.
“She’s a horse that can spring of a really good tempo…she’s just a little rocket.”
