Kemalpasa strengthened his claims in next month’s Group 1 Goodwood with a dominant R N Irwin Stakes victory at Morphettville on weekend.
Twelve months on from the race where he injured a shoulder that forced him out of The Goodwood, Kemalpasa justified favouritism with a controlled and confident performance, jumping straight to the lead and powering away from TAB Classic hopeful Humma Humma to win by two lengths.
Co-trainer Richard Jolly said it had been a good year for the talented sprinter, who was narrowly beaten in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate at his last start in Melbourne.
“He’s had a good 12 months and we’re hoping we can get him into the Goodwood, and touch wood, nothing goes wrong,” Jolly said.
The win extended the good record for jockey Jake Toeroek aboard the horse and helped erase the disappointment of having missed some key wins in Melbourne where cross-border travel restrictions meant he was unable to travel over with the horse.
“Jake’s been riding him since he was a yearling,” Jolly said.
“Jake’s missed a couple of wins in Melbourne through COVID, so it was good (for him) to get the win.”
The stable is now likely to bypass the handicap conditions of the D C McKay Stakes and go straight into the Group 1 at Morphettville on May 15.
“I’m not happy with him carrying 62kg in a handicap race,” Jolly said.
“We can keep him fit enough and probably just go fresh into the Goodwood.”
While Kemalpasa was brilliant, Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Jye McNeil stole the show with a riding treble.
He produced a brilliant ride to win the Listed Redelva Stakes aboard Muntaseera, claimed the opening race aboard Generation, also trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, before winning the last in comfortable fashion aboard Deep Dive for the Freedman stable.
Muntaseera’s Redelva win was impressive on the back of a classy ride.
McNeil saved ground between horses before running down a brave Smokin’ Val, with Litchfield County grabbing third, and boom SA filly Instant Celebrity finishing fourth.
“It was a fantastic win, she had to do it the tough way,” McNeil said.
“She sprinted fantastic when the gaps appeared in the straight.”
While he walked away with three winners, it was the one horse many expected to win, Steinem, who came up short, running fourth in the Group 3 Auraria Stakes behind Tyche Goddess, who gave young rider Thomas Stockdale his first Group winner at a big price.
“I didn’t think this horse was out of the race at all,” Stockdale said post-race.
“They went hard early, it was a muddlingly run race, we got a smooth run through them and what a filly.
“Things didn’t go right last start. This is my first Group winner, it’s pretty special.”
Over the border the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Sisstar put herself in the TAB Classic picture with an impressive win the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes when she defeated Lyre with William Pike in the saddle, while the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained La Mexicana also put her hand up for a Group 1 tilt after her win in the VOBIS Gold Dash.
