Racing: NZ shares Randwick spoils

Outsider Gust Of Wind (rails) stuns punters as she breezes to an easy Australian Oaks win. Photo / Getty Images

Sydney's fabulous The Championships is entirely an Australian concept, but what a footprint New Zealand plonked on to it on Saturday.

New Zealand's Sir Owen Glenn took the jewel in the crown, when Criterion won the A$4 million Queen Elizabeth.

Chris Waller, who has turned Sydney racing on its head, produced the Grand Marshal-Who Shot Thebarman A$1.7 million Sydney Cup quinella result and picked up the Arrowfield with Delectation.

The irrepressible Jim Cassidy won the Cup on Grand Marshal with a stunning last-stride ride.

John Sargent, in only his second full year since crossing the Tasman, won the A$1 million Australian Oaks with New Zealand-bred Gust Of Wind.

James McDonald continued climbing Sydney mountains by winning the A$150,000 South Pacific Classic on Federal for his contracted owners, Godolphin.

Jason Collett produced a brilliant rails-hugging ride to lift the A$385,000 Provincial Championship final for Bede Murray.

At the end of a hugely busy Randwick day racing honours rested somewhere in mid-Tasman.

It drives home yet again that the greatest advantage the New Zealand racing industry has is that Australia is a four-hour flight away.

Sargent was on his way driving to Australian Racing Retro when we spoke to him yesterday morning. Had you listened to Sargent on Australian media on Saturday, you might well have taken the juicy odds about Gust Of Wind, when he indicated he was worried about the footing for Thunder Lady and advised punters not to ignore Gust Of Wind.

"The other filly [Thunder Lady] has a touch more class than Gust Of Wind, but she struggles in the ground. Gust Of Wind is a real dour stayer since she won a maiden at Scone, but her performance was probably the best maiden win I've ever seen.

"She came out of the gates and started low bucking. She ended up 10 lengths behind the second-last horse who was 10 lengths behind the main bunch. She was still five lengths last on the home bend and flew up to win. You've never seen anything like it."

Gust Of Wind, by Darci Brahma from a mare by Sadler's Wells, was bought in New Zealand. "From memory she wasn't hugely expensive," said Sargent, who says he will now spell both Asian-owned mares.

"Ringa Ding Ding, Pumper Is King." Okay, that is a well-worn piece of self promotion by Jim Cassidy, but no one can deny the truth in that statement.

There is only one word to describe Cassidy - genius. Here's a bloke who couldn't get a ride on the first day of The Championships and stayed at home.

That's a long way from winning the Sydney Cup on Grand Marshal. The imported stayer may have started at $40, but his odds were nothing like that when he started to run down stablemate Who Shot Thebarman.

When Cassidy propels a horse after the leaders in the closing stages of a race he can, like almost no other, inject the eye of the tiger into his mount. This was a huge example - Who Shot Thebarman was at $1.50 when Blake Shinn shot him through underneath the leaders at the 300m and strode three lengths clear.

That Cassidy could get Grand Marshal up right in the final stride was a piece of racing magic.

It's not only in the saddle that Cassidy shines.

Asked in the post-race interview if he'd been disappointed in not getting a ride the previous week he said: "Hell, no. I support kids in wheelchairs that go to the Easter Show and can't get out of their chairs and get on the rides.

"Compared to them, how lucky am I? I'm 52 and I have my health."

With an attitude like that Cassidy is going to be around a lot longer.