Astoria wins Group 3 Spring Stakes at Newcastle
THE value of Astoria as a future stallion increased dramatically at Newcastle on Friday when the three-year-old colt scored a dominant win in the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m) at Newcastle.
The Godolphin runner jumped well from barrier seven but was beaten for speed, with jockey Tye Angland restraining the son of Medaglia D’Oro and Segue.
Angland showed plenty of patience, moving the bay youngster into the clear approaching the 300m mark before storming down the outside to defeat odds-on favourite Merovee by just under a length.
Race 5 – NBN Spring Stakes won by Astoria for @tyeangland and a double for the royal Blue army of @godolphin and @j_a_cummings pic.twitter.com/mVGPJ49ecn
— Newcastle Racecourse (@newcastleraces_) September 15, 2017
Team Godolphin were pleased with the run, which went against Astoria’s normal racing style.
“It was never the plan to go back but Tye didn’t panic – he got him out at the right time and it was a great ride,” stable representative Nacim Dilmi said post-race.
Dilm said whilst the stable knew the horse was well going into the race, they had thought he would be better off after a few more runs and over more ground.
“We never planned to get on with it second up, we just wanted to see how he would come on from today’s run and then have a crack at 1800m or 2000m next start,” Dilmi said.
“But he looked great coming here today although he still has a bit of weight to lose. The way he has come here today and won shows us that he is going in the right direction.”
Trained by James Cummings, Astoria has now won two of his five starts with prize money closing in on $160,000. The impressive colt is now expected to target more group glory to further enhance his CV.
“I did mention the Metropolitan but that might have been excitement talking – he’ll probably head towards the Spring Champion or head down to Melbourne,” the Dilmi said.