Cool Chap takes out the VRC St Leger
Daniel Stackhouse has earned praise from champion trainer Lee Freedman for his winning VRC St Leger ride on Cool Chap but his day has been tempered by a careless riding ban from an earlier race.
Stackhouse guided the Lee and Anthony Freedman-trained Cool Chap to a convincing win in Monday’s $200,000 Listed race at Flemington.
The victory gave the Freedman brothers back-to-back wins in the 2800m-race for three-year-olds following Authoritarian in 2015.
Stackhouse had Cool Chap midfield early and the gelding travelled into the race ominously in the straight, sprinting past favourite Etymology ($2.20) at the 200m.
Cool Chap ($4.40) had a 2-1/4 length advantage over Etymology on the line with Bullish Stock another long head away third.
“It was a terrific ride and from the 800 metre mark he was never going to get beaten,” Freedman said.
“We only got Cool Chap recently off Peter Moody and he’s just thrived in the stable.
“I said to (syndicator) Rob Slade he’s worked as good as any horse I’ve got ready for a staying race so he should run well.
“It’s lovely to see the horse get out to this trip and win so easily. There’s plenty of scope for him going forward, and being by High Chaparral he’ll probably just get better.”
Stackhouse, who is unbeaten from two rides on Cool Chap, was suspended for seven meetings for careless riding on Smart As You Think in the Listed Anzac Day Stakes.
It means Stackhouse will miss the rides on the Mick Price-trained Bassett, part-owned by the jockey’s mother, on Saturday at Caulfield and also the Freedman-trained Hi World.
Stackhouse said it was great to be getting opportunities for the Freedmans and he was impressed with Cool Chap.
“He travelled into the race really well and then had a good turn of foot at the end of a long trip,” Stackhouse said.
“I couldn’t hold him slow enough at the 700 metre mark.”
Meanwhile, the Aaron Purcell-trained Swacadelic is bound for his home-town Cup at Warrnambool next week after chasing down Big Memory to win Monday’s Anzac Cup (2530m).