Cummings Tempted to test his filly after her Percy Sykes success
Tempted (Street Boss) made amends for a luckless run in the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) by securing her second stakes win in the Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on day two of The Championships at Randwick.
Trainer James Cummings cited some lofty spring ambitions for the valuable filly after she dashed away from her rivals, headed by Brad Widdup’s promising filly Savvy Hallie (Hellbent); but in the more immediate future a spelling paddock at Osborne Park beckons following a highly lucrative six-start preparation which has yielded more than $1.3 million in prize-money.
James McDonald rode Tempted’s dam Calliope (Exceed And Excel) to victory in both the Gimcrack Stakes (Listed, 1000m), and the Magic Night Stakes (Gr. 2, 1200m), and nine years on from that dual success Australia’s leading jockey was again wearing those familiar royal blue colours as Godolphin’s homebred filly justified favouritism in the $1 million contest.
Mindful that Tempted had been squeezed for room at a crucial stage in the Slipper, McDonald kept his mount well clear of trouble with the pair content to plot a wide path from barrier 12.
Once Tempted had let down in the home straight, her natural acceleration put the race out of reach despite the best efforts of last-start Baillieu Handicap (Gr 3, 1400m) runner-up Savvy Hallie and Within The Law (Lucky Vega), who banished the memories of her Slipper mishap by running into third place.
While the Percy Sykes is restricted to fillies, Cummings believes Tempted has the capacity to beat the boys in the spring, with a crack at the Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m) thrown out as one of several options on the table in the early part of the spring.
But for now it’s a case of job well done for Tempted, whose sire has enjoyed an equally prosperous autumn courtesy of recent stakes wins for Tentyris and Elphinstone and a first top-flight success for Another Wil in the C.F. Orr Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m).
Speaking afterwards, Cummings paid tribute to Street Boss (Street Cry), whose most famous son Anamoe covered Calliope this breeding season.
“He’s shown yet again that he can produce high-class two-year-olds,” said Cummings, who was celebrating success in the Percy Sykes for the first time.
“She’s an outstanding filly, just about as good a two-year-old filly as you could wish to find, and she got another opportunity to prove it at the Championships here this afternoon, so I was most pleased that she got this chance.
“She had a lot more clear air today than she faced three weeks ago, but Golden Slipper form is great form, and she proved it despite the wide run. We did feel on paper that was inevitable, but we took our medicine as far as covering ground and facing the breeze goes, and gave Tempted the opportunity to show her class and she did just that.
“It was a big ask to go again after the Slipper, but the way she came through that run and her work in the build-up indicated that she was capable of running one more big race for us. She’s another good example of what my stable has been able to do, to keep her this happy and mentally fresh so deep into her preparation.
“So I’m very proud of our team and the teams at 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.
“For now we’ll give her a good break and then think about what we do in the spring. She can enjoy her time in a paddock at the foot of the Blue Mountains, which is equine paradise. I’ve got my eye on the Silver Shadow and the Furious Stakes, or maybe she’s a good enough filly to take on the Run To The Rose early on.”
McDonald missed the opening day of The Championships, having committed to partnering Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) in the Dubai Turf (Gr 1, 1800m) on Dubai World Cup night.
But he soon made up for lost time with another textbook steer to maintain his unblemished record on Tempted, having piloted her to Reisling Stakes (Gr. 2, 1200m) success at Randwick last month.
“She’s a very good filly,” said McDonald.
“James said to ride her like the best horse in the race and she was too good. She always felt like the winner a long way from home. She paraded really well today with the earmuffs on, so she’s a real credit to James and his team. He kept her up and said she would win today, and he was right.”
Tempted is a half-sister to multiple Group winner Kallos (Medaglia D’Oro), who beat subsequent Royal Ascot winner Asfoora (Flying Artie) in last year’s Rubiton Stakes (Gr. 2, 1100m).
Calliope has a yearling colt called Zambales, who was sired by Darley’s shuttler Pinatubo (Shamardal).