Back-to-back stakes triumphs for Acquitted
Australian Bloodstock’s import Acquitted (Night Of Thunder) took 26 starts to achieve a stakes success, and now he’s won two in a row, after claiming yesterday’s Bernborough Plate (Listed, 1600m) at Eagle Farm.
The Kris Lees-trained seven-year-old backed up his length and a half win in Doomben’s Tails Stakes (Listed, 1600m) on December 2 with a more emphatic win yesterday by almost three lengths, after being sent off a firm $2.40 favourite.
Fellow import, the Corey and Kylie Geran-trained Without Revenge (Muhaarar, $21) was second again – as he was in the Tails – with Team Edmonds’ second favourite The Vowels (Better Than Ready, $3.60) third.
Gun jockey James Orman gave Acquitted an ideal run from barrier seven in fifth spot, one off the fence. Trouble loomed when the seven-year-old was pocketed for a considerable time in the home straight, but once he squeezed into the clear at the 200 metres, Acquitted powered home for an authoritative victory.
“I was lucky to have the horse under me to move when I wanted to move,” Orman said. “He is a lovely horse to ride, and Kris has done a tremendous job with him.
“The sky is the limit with this horse.”
Acquitted now has six wins, five seconds and three thirds, with three wins coming under Hugo Palmer in England before his purchase by Australian Bloodstock. Yesterday’s win pushed his earnings past half a million dollars.
Originally a €60,000 buy for Palmer and Avenue Bloodstock from the Ballylinch Stud draft at the 2018 Goffs Orby Sale, Acquitted is the best of two winners from two foals to race out of the Godolphin mare Blameless (Authorized), who was unplaced in three runs, all in Ireland.
Night Of Thunder (Dabawi), who shuttled one season to Australia in 2016, and stands at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland, has had 42 winners in Australia from 56 runners and they are headed by seven stakes winners.
Overall, the son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) has 43 black-type winners from 402 runners, and 270 winners.