Ceolwulf comes out on top in titanic Champions Mile tussle
Joe Pride declared Ceolwulf (Tavistock) had removed any doubt he was the best horse he’d trained after the gelding’s triumph in an epic Champions Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Appallingly cold, wet and windy conditions on the last day of the Melbourne Cup carnival at least provided the backdrop to two of the most stirring finishes of the week, 40 minutes apart.
First, Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) overcame Magic Time (Hellbent) by 0.2 lengths after a tooth-and-nail final furlong of the VRC Champions Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m).
One race later, Ceolwulf and Pericles (Street Boss) came away from their seven rivals in a gripping struggle in the Mile.
Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) set out to repeat her usual bold front-running display but in the Heavy 9 conditions was a spent force by the turn.
Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express) had this time tried to put pressure on Pride Of Jenni in front, but while she held the lead for the first half of the home straight, her run also petered out.
With $2.90 favourite Mr Brightside (Bullbars) clearly not going to threaten, it was left to Warwick Farm rivals – Pride’s Ceolwulf and Bjorn Baker’s Godolphin-raced gelding Pericles – to battle for the victory, moving up in better going out wide, after travelling fourth and fifth in the run respectively.
Pericles, at $19 to Ceolwulf’s $5, gained the clear ascendancy, going to the front by a neck at the 150 metres with the race seemingly at his mercy.
But under vigorous riding from Chad Schofield, the blinkered Ceolwulf, now with a clear view of his rival, fought back heroically as the pair went to the line together, with Pride’s charge ultimately prevailing by a threadbare 0.06 lengths.
Baker’s other runner Stefi Magnetica (All Too Hard) was third at $11, a gaping 4.56 lengths away, with Treasurethe Moment hanging on for fourth at $5 to close out an unfulfilled spring, and Mr Brightside fifth.
Pride has had such Group 1 luminaries in his stable as Terravista (Captain Rio), Think About It (So You Think), Eduardo (Host) and Vision And Power (Carnegie).
But he said five-year-old Ceolwulf had erased any lingering doubts that he deserved to be ranked above them all following this fourth elite success, and his second in as many starts after successfully defending his title in Randwick’s King Charles II Stakes (Gr 1, 1609m) on October 18.
“I’ve thought for a long time he’s the best horse I’ve trained and with his last two wins, he’s certainly cemented his spot there,” Pride told Racing.com.
“That was fantastic, really special. I love winning races here. This horse has really turned it on in the second half of the preparation and has strung a couple of very good wins together.
“I thought at the 200 that he wasn’t enjoying it, he was wandering around a little bit, but as soon as Pericles challenged him, he rallied, and it was a really good go to the line with two good horses.
“That’s the key to him; he comes good later in his preparation.”
Ceolwulf took his earnings past $10 million with his seventh win from 25 starts. Unusually, all previous 24 had come in Sydney.
“I normally travel my horses at some stage of their career but through circumstance he hadn’t had a trip away,” Pride said.
“But it’s nice to see him do that today as some horses don’t like it, don’t enjoy it, but he’s relished it.”
Bred by Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay – owners of Cambridge Stud where Tavistock (Montjeu) stood until his death in 2019 – Ceolwulf was bought by Pride from the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale in 2022, for $170,000.
He’s the second of seven foals, and one of only two to race, for unraced British import Las Brisas (Shamardal), whose second dam was the mother of Cerulean Sky (Darshaan), winner of Longchamp’s Prix Saint-Alary (Gr 1, 2000m) and Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) victor Moonstone (Dalakhani).
Pride tipped that Ceolwulf might be back at Flemington next spring to contest the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m).
“I’d love to be back here for the Cox Plate. Whether or not he is as good at 2000 [metres] as he is at a mile, we’ll find out in the autumn [and] probably in the Queen Elizabeth. Great way to finish the year,” he said.
Schofield was full of praise for Ceolwulf’s effort in the dogfight to the line.
“He jumped really well today and he took the most out of that good jump and put himself in a more forward position and when the race heated up around the 600 metres, I was still going really well,” he said.
“He ambled into it and then he had a good look when he hit the big Flemington straight for the first time. He got a bit lost for a while until Pericles got in front of him, and then he could see him with his blinkers and he was the stronger horse late.
“If you had asked me how I was feeling at the 400, I’d have said it was race over. He ambled up and came into it but in the Flemington straight he put his head up and baulked. That allowed Pericles to get a margin on me, and when he saw him he went again.”
Schofield paid for his desperation in the finish, being suspended for 11 meetings and fined $35,000 for over-using the whip. He was also suspended for 18 meetings for careless riding near the 1400 metres. With the suspensions to be served cumulatively, he will be out from November 16 until December 17.