Hartnell destroys opposition in Chelmsford Stakes romp
THE scratching of champion mare Winx might have taken some of the shine away from the Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick, but racing fans weren’t disappointed with what transpired.
The John O’Shea-trained Hartnell demonstrated its class to run away with the $250,000 feature and we can only speculate what would have happened had Winx lined up.
The six-year-old finished second behind Winx last start in the Warwick Stakes, but found no such opposition on Saturday as it won the 1600m race in a canter.
Three-year-old colt Prized Icon opened the favourite after the withdrawal of Winx, but the big money came late for Hartnell ($1.90 at Sportsbet) which showed the form that saw it competing at the highest level two seasons back.
O’Shea credited the performance as a team effort and a run in the Metropolitan could be on the cards this season.
“He executed well today. It was a great team effort to get him back to that form,” O’Shea said. “Very rewarding for the whole team.”
James McDonald positioned the gelding just off the speed in third position and angled three-wide around the turn before never letting it out of second gear.
“He had a lot of things go his way today to be fair, we’ll take it when it comes because there’s plenty of days when it doesn’t,” O’Shea said.
“The Metrop (Metropolitan) run will be weight dependant… we’ll like to keep him in Sydney.”
McDonald jokingly stated that he wished Winx was running, but later admitted that the Cox Plate champion probably would have won.
“Wish Winx was in it,” he quipped. “This horse is going good you know, he’s built on that (last start run).
“He was relaxed, travelling, spot on.
“Going forward he’s in for a good campaign.”
Stablemate Grand Marshal finished off well for second at place odds of $6.80 with Storm The Stars getting some Australian black type.