“I knew I was getting close but to set a new record and doing it with three big wins feels pretty good,” says McNab.
Although he has the premiership all but sewn up, McNab says he won’t be backing off and intends to ride until the end of the season on July 31.
Although stakes start to drop off in winter when there is less feature racing, McNab looks likely to push his new record close to $4.5m.
White Noise’s win in the Easter was effortless and he ploughed through the heavy track, even though trainer Andrew Forsman, like many other trainers on the day, wasn’t confident when morning rain quickly turned the track into a testing heavy10.
He led into the straight and saw off chases from Habana and Tavattack, suggesting he will be able to step up to weight-for-age mile racing next season.
Cheval D’Or won just as easily in the 3-year-old staying feature, and she won’t have to wait until next season for her shot at Group 1 glory, as she is likely to head to the Queensland winter carnival.
“We were already thinking about the Queensland Oaks, and that win qualifies her, so she is almost certain to go,” said trainer Tony Pike.
“She is a half-sister to Bostonian, who we’ve had so much success with in Queensland, and she proved she can handle a really wet track, which we all know we can get in Queensland.”
The Championship Stakes lost one of the favourites, Desert Lightning, when the track was downgraded to heavy, one of many late scratchings as the track went from a soft6 at scratching time (7.30am) to heavy just three hours later.
The favourite for the Group 3, Arby, loomed up to win at the top of the straight but never really let down on the heavy surface, a common excuse on the day.
Loch Katrine gave trainer Daniel Miller his fourth stakes victory when she won the Champagne Stakes, providing a stakes winner for stallion Ardrossan.
