Ducimus wins Talindert Stakes for team Hawkes
HIGHLY-rated colt Ducimus has kept its unbeaten record intact on Saturday after taking out the Talindert Stakes at Flemington following a major betting plunge on the Hawkes runner.
The two-year-old opened at $9 at WilliamHill.com.au but was crunched late to close at $4.60.
Ducimus loomed up large at the 200m mark but raced greenly cutting off the run of third placed Sanadaat ($2.40 at Crownbet.com.au) which launched a protest post-race.
The protest was dismissed after it was deemed Ducimus was travelling too strongly for the third placed horse to overcome it, which meant Taking Aim’s ($1.90 at Sportsbet.com.au) second placing finish stood.
Jockey Noel Callow believes the Hawkes stable has uncovered yet another star.
“He’s good because he’s out there on his own, he wanted to lay in, it’s not his fault he’s just green, but he still put them away,” Callow said.
“He’s just (got) big, raw ability.”
While the protest was ultimately dismissed against the talented colt, it was a sharp reminder for the team that Ducimus still has plenty of work to do to live up to the hefty $700,000 price tag.
Callow has no doubt the horse has the ability go to on and feature in group one races.
“I don’t want to upset him, he’s a big kid and when this horse starts going straight, which he will because it’s early days, he’s going to be a nice horse,” he said.
“When the penny drops (he can win) the Caulfield Guineas I reckon.”
Co-trainer Wayne Hawkes agreed with Callow’s assessment of the horse’s ability.
“Just because their price tag is big doesn’t mean to say they can run but when you’ve got one that’s got a big price tag with a big pedigree by a great stallion all of a sudden … this bloke is coming along.” Hawkes said.
“For the first serious racing prep you can’t ask for much more than he’s done, he’s won two out of two.”
Team Hawkes has never been a stable that is prepared to make outlandish statements on their horses, and Wayne was quick to pour cold water on Callow’s Caulfield Guineas expectation.
“We’ll probably err on the side of caution with him because he’s still a baby,” the co-trainer said.
“He’s still quite immature, even though he’s doing the job … (but) if you let them mature then you’ll get something else down the track.
“You’ve got to let the horse do the talking, and I wouldn’t be upset if he was a little bit tight tomorrow morning because that means we’ve got to chip him out.”