It was a day and night of celebrations for connections of star South Australian galloper Behemoth on Saturday.
Not only did he put his name alongside champion mare Sunline as a back-to-back winner of the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield, but just hours later he claimed the 2020-21 SA Champion Horse of the Year Award at Morphettville.
On the track he had to fight off his heir apparent, fellow local Beau Rossa who flashed late to grab second.
And for Goolwa trainer David Jolly, having a horse like Behemoth in his stable has been a dream come true.
“I’m in awe of it,’’ Jolly said.
“As a kid you’re in awe of those sort of horses. He’s like a proper old-fashioned weight-for-age horse and it is beyond my wildest dreams,” he said.
And Jolly said the race worked out perfectly on the back of a vintage ride by Brett Prebble who seized the initiative when the pace slackened to make a three wide move and keep his main dangers in a pocket.
“That was a great race to watch,’’ Jolly said.
“I did say to Brett that at least where you’re drawn, you might be able to cruise around them and maybe you’ll have horses on your inside that you can tuck away and make your move when you want to make your move. That’s how it panned out,” he said.
While narrowly beaten with Beau Rossa in the Memsie, Adelaide trainer Will Clarken was successful in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes at Morphettville when former Kiwi galloper Second Slip enhanced his impressive record.
It was another brilliant ride by Todd Pannell who gave the horse a perfect run in front before safely holding rivals and taking his record to five wins from seven starts since joining the Clarken stable.
And away from the features there were some great side stories.
Clarken also had success at Caulfield with He’s A Balter, while at Morphettville, Ben Price landing his first city success in the saddle with a race to race double at just his second metropolitan meeting.
Gary Lo also had a double, the first coming win for one of SA’s newest training combinations, Gary and Nichole Searle and daughter Brianna Callanan, when former WA galloper Tommy Blue scored first-up in SA.
