Riff rockets to Rosehill Guineas glory
Riff Rocket (American Pharoah) joined a rare and elite band of horses to have completed the top-flight double of the VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) and the Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) with a fighting victory in the Sydney three-year-old feature on Saturday.
After having his colours lowered as favourite with a second-up third in his previous start in Flemington’s Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), Riff Rocket showed his appreciation for the extra 400 metres when surging down the outside to score by 0.8 lengths.
A homebred for Winx’s (Street Cry) part-owner Debbie Kepitis’s Woppitt Bloodstock, the gelding made it back-to-back wins in the race for Kepitis and trainer Chris Waller following last year’s success of Lindermann (Lonhro), who coincidentally won his first race since that victory, over the same course, in last week’s Sky High Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m).
Since the Rosehill Guineas was pushed back from spring to autumn 45 years ago, only three horses have won it after taking the VRC Derby: Tarzino (Tavistock) in 2016, Helenus (Helissio) in 2003, and the great Dulcify (Decies), in the first year of the scheduling switch, 1979.
More broadly, Riff Rocket now also sits alongside earlier greats including Phar Lap (Night Raid) in 1929, Tulloch (Khorassan) in 1957, and Hydrogen (Delville Wood) in 1951 by taking both races.
“He’s a Derby winner and he’s a Rosehill Guineas winner, he’s showed touches of brilliance in between as well, so that was a pretty satisfying win today for the team,” Waller said following his 159th Group 1 victory – one race after chalking up 158th courtesy of Via Sistina’s (Fastnet Rock) triumph in the Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
“The draw was tricky, he had to come from a long way back, but Nash Rawiller knew what he had under him and he backed him for a solid finish and that’s what he produced.”
Victory in the $750,000 feature brought a 70th Group 1 win for Rawiller, who took the $2.70 favourite back from gate seven to settle second-last of the 11, and began a sustained run three-wide about 700-metres out. He was the widest runner around the turn as race leader Ganbare (Maurice) and Cap Ferrat (Snitzel) battled up front, and while Cap Ferrat looked a winning chance momentarily, Riff Rocket knuckled down from three lengths behind at the 200-metre mark to grind past him.
Hitting the front at the 100 metres, he had 0.8 lengths to spare on the line from Ceolwulf (Tavistock), with Cap Ferrat and Ganbare close up in third and fourth. Second favourite Tom Kitten (Harry Angel), followed the fence and finished sixth.
“It takes him a while to build and find it,” Rawiller said of Riff Rocket, “but when we got to the furlong he surprised me how well he lengthened again, and that’s what those good stayers do.
“I was probably three lengths further back than I wanted to be … but the horse was able to keep balanced and he built into the race.
“I just used the horse to come into the race a little bit and to be fair he’s done the rest himself. It was just a great effort.”
Bookmakers responded by winding Riff Rocket in to $2.80 favouritism for the $2 million Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) at Randwick on April 6, where he will aim to emulate Hitotsu (Maurice) in 2022, Mahogany (Last Tycoon) in 1994, and Dulcify in 1979 (also the first year after the Australian Derby’s switch from spring to autumn) in taking out the Flemington-Randwick staying Classic double.
Moments after yesterday’s race, Waller said the Derby was not locked in. Though it would seem a likely progression, Riff Rocket is also in the market for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) a week later.
“I’m not sure,” Waller said. “He only just won the Victoria Derby [over] 2500 metres, our Derby is 2400, so I guess it’s going to be hard not to run, but we’ll just see what Nash says.”
Foaled and raised at Coolmore, where American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) shuttled to from the US for five straight seasons up to 2021, Riff Rocket is the only winner from two to race for Missile Coda (Smart Missile), winner of five of her 13 starts and a Listed runner-up at Doomben.
A $400,000 Magic Millions yearling, Missile Coda is out of the talented mare Rain Melody (Lonhro), a three-quarter sister to I Believe (Octagonal), dam of seven-time stakes-winner winner Rain Affair (Commands) and dual Listed winner Ranges (Shooting To Win).
Missile Coda has a two-year-old Nicconi filly named Codetta (Nicconi) in the Michael Freedman stable, and after two years without a foal was covered by Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) last spring.
Riff Rocket is the only southern hemisphere horse among eight elite-level winners for American Pharoah, who stands for US$50,000 (approx. AU$76,700) at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud base in Kentucky.