Southport Tycoon wins Group 1 Australian Guineas
Jamie Kah has taken out her second Group 1 race in a matter of a week, as she guided Southport Tycoon (+1600) to victory in the Australian Guineas after claiming the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes last Saturday.
Combining with trainer Ciaron Maher, Kah gave the son of Written Tycoon a peach of a ride from midfield and allowed her mount to build momentum rounding the home turn before unleashing with his finish.
After Veight (+400) took the lead from the tiring leaders, Hey Fat Cat (+2500) and The Pendragon (+3300), Southport Tycoon quickly levelled up and got himself involved in a battle for the lead, but he started to edge clear in the final 150m to race clear with the victory.
The best of the swoopers was the race favourite Riff Rocket (+145) and Quintessa (+2000), with the duo finishing third and fourth in that order.
As the Australian Guineas is a win and you’re in race for the $4 million All Star Mile, Ciaron Maher and connections of Southport Tycoon will have a big decision to make in the coming days.
2024 Australian Guineas Replay – Southport Tycoon
Ciaron Maher picked up his second winner of the day after Another Wil won earlier in the day, and he spoke post-race.
“He was almost the forgotten colt really, I was very confident last start and I almost doubted myself a little bit,” Maher said.
“Jamie had the barrier, I was confident she had the right barrier to bounce, land in the right spot, she couldn’t have rode the horse any better.
“(He) travelled, followed Veight into the race, you know he’s a genuine, genuine horse.
“I was very confident coming down the straight, watching it, (I) couldn’t wait to talk to you two guys again actually.
“Being a three-year-old colt, maybe it’s (All Star Mile) worth considering a little bit more, now he’s got that group one on the board.
“It’s a more realistic option but I’m sure they’ll enjoy it tonight and we’ll have some good, healthy conversations about it tomorrow.”
Jamie Kah rode her second Group 1 winner in as many weekends, and she spoke about the win post-race.
“Everything just worked out a dream out there today,” Kah said of the run.
“We got into a beautiful spot, the horse I wanted to follow was Veight and we were following him.
“When I popped out at about the 400 (metres) I thought he’s going to run a really nice second here and then he just found and found and kept finding.
“The scary thing is he’s so raw still, very dumb and immature and he’s got a lot more improvement there but I’ll take that – that was awesome.”
“He looks like he’s got class, he’s talented, but he just seems like when he hits the front he wants to step in, wants to lay in and I just needed to time the run perfectly but when the draws came out and I got four.
“It was going to be a beautiful run for the horse and that’s the difference between winning and losing, in these races you’ve got to give him the perfect runs and he got the perfect one today.”