Tempted bounces back to claim Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes
The James Cummings-trained Tempted ($3.10) has surged clear to secure victory in the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon, bouncing back from a luckless outing in the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) last time out.
The daughter of Street Boss was a good thing licked in Australia’s richest two-year-old feature at Rosehill on March 22, and despite drifting late with horse racing bookmakers, the Godolphin filly has repaid the faith for favourite backers, bolting to the top despite sustaining a tough run in transit.
James McDonald failed to find any cover throughout the 1200m journey, with Tempted forced to sit three-wide every step of the way, while Inkaruna ($3.40 with Playup) slotted into the perfect stalking position behind the leaders as Sequista ($13 with Dabble) and Savvy Hallie ($17) pressed forward to ensure a genuine tempo.
Within The Law () lobbed into the one-one under Jason Collett, however, seemed to hit a flat spot as the sprint went on, with Tempted hitting top gear when asked for the ultimate effort by ‘JMac’.
She put the race to be within a couple of strides, with Tempted proving the superior two-year-old for the autumn, securing her third win at start six in the process.
James Cumming was on course at Randwick for Day 2 of The Championships and couldn’t have been happier with the performance.
“She’s an outstanding two-year-old filly,” said Cummings.
“She got another opportunity to prove it at the Championships here this afternoon, so I was most pleased that she got the chance to show that.
“She had a lot more clear air today than she faced three weeks ago, but the Golden Slipper form is great form, and she proved it despite the wide run, which we did feel on paper was inevitable, but we took our medicine as far covering ground and facing the breeze goes and gave Tempted the opportunity to show her class and she did just that.
“She’s another good example of what my stable has been able to do, I’m very proud of our team, the stud farms, all the guys behind Tempted who have been able to produce a horse that’s strong enough and versatile enough to be maintaining this sort of gallop right the way through the preparation.”
James McDonald echoed a similar sentiment in his post-race analysis.
“She’s a good filly and ridden like the best one and she was too good,” McDonald said.
“She always felt like the winner, she paraded really well today with the earmuffs on, a real credit to James and his team. He kept her up and he said she would win today.”
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