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CLASS act, Defier, silenced his critics, almost
certainly cheated retirement and ran a race record
when he used Saturday’s XXXX Doomben Cup for
a devastating return to top form.
“I don’t want to do anything desperate.
I want to let the horse tell us when it is time to
quit,” Sydney trainer, Guy Walter, said on
the eve of the Cup.
After the win, Defier’s first in Group 1 company
since the George Main Stakes at Randwick almost two
years ago, Walter was again asked about retirement.
“It’s not my decision. It is up to the
owners. He’s rising seven years and is he going
to come back as good in the spring? I think it’s
a bad day to make such an important decision.”
Part-owner Jim Koureas was ecstatic. “I love
this horse so much and I wanted him to win so badly.
People were saying that he was over the hill and
not good enough. He had the class on this field and
today he showed his true colours.”
Defier showed class, courage and commitment to win
by a length and a quarter from the Victorian Pentastic,
with the Kiwi stayer, Upsetthym, running a great
Brisbane Cup trial to finish third.
The Cup win provided Sydney jockey Hugh Bowman with
his first Group One and a perfect going away present
on the eve of his departure for a two-month working
holiday in England and Ireland.
Defier took his career earnings to $2.96 million
from 34 starts – a tidy return for the owners
on the $80,000 Anthony Cummings paid for him at the
1999 Magic Millions ale at the Gold Coast.
Although connections were reluctant to make any
immediate decision about Defier’s future, the
winning enclosure echoed to the roar of ‘he’s
back!’
Thoughts of another attempt at the Cox Plate in
the spring were certainly in their minds. Defier
has finished seconds to Northerly and Fields of Omagh
the past two years.
Trainer David Hall will decide in the next few days
whether runner-up Pentastic proceeds to the Brisbane
Cup whilst the Auckland Cup winner Upsetthym is a
definite runner in the two-miler, but might first
start in the O’Shea Stakes next Saturday.
QUEENSLAND Racing carnival news: John Lingard – May
31.
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Defier (Hugh Bowman)
outguns Pentastic
(Nash Rawiller) to win the
Doomben Cup. |
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Hugh
Bowman salutes as he
returns to scale on Defier.
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A
jubilant Hugh Bowman holds aloft the
Doomben
Cup.
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Connections
of Defier at the presentation after
the Doomben
Cup win.
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(Noel Pascoe photos)
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