Barber cuts down rivals to win Golden Gift
While Godolphin were thwarted in their attempts to celebrate an eighth Group 1 win for stable star Anamoe (Street Boss) in the Champions Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Flemington, the royal blue silks were carried to victory by a potential star of the future in yesterday’s Golden Gift (1100m) at Rosehill.
Exceed And Excel (Danehill) colt Barber remained unbeaten from two starts in producing an eye-catching display to win the $1 million juvenile contest in the final strides.
Having won the Kirkham Stakes (1000m) on debut, Barber showed his class and inexperience in equal measure in overcoming adversity to land yesterday’s rich juvenile contest.
The colt hopped out of the barriers to concede ground at the start. Travelling towards the rear of the 14-runner field, Barber cornered erratically, bumping into Shine Your Light (Jukebox), before Hugh Bowman was able to straighten on the colt and release him for his effort.
His progress was again stalled at the 150-metre mark as Barber was this time on the receiving end of a hit from the wandering Maharba (Pride Of Dubai), but he picked himself up to deny Infatuation (I Am Invincible) on the line and win by a head. Summer Loving (Exceed And Excel) finished a length further back in third.
“As soon as he jumped we went ‘Oh, plan B’. Fortunately you’ve got a jockey of Hughie’s calibre, he’s a very cool customer and doesn’t get overawed in those occasions,” Godolphin representative Darren Beadman said.
“He’s a very push-button horse, he’s like a horse that’s had five or six starts. Worked his way through the pack and come out and hit the line with a lot of purpose and determination. He’s class with a capital C.
“He drew one the other day in the Kirkham and had all the favours, but today he had to overcome adversity.
“The way that he let down and once he put his sights on the horse in front of him, he really knuckled down. So it’s a sign of a good horse.”
Barber was shortened to $15 co-favouritism alongside King’s Gambit (I Am Invincible), Empire Of Japan (Snitzel) and Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar) for the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) in March next year.
“Mid-race you could feel I was detached from the pack, but the horse was happy. I was going to trust him to run his race late,” Bowman said.
“He had to dig deep today and he produced, and I would suggest he is one of the top two-year-olds in the country.”
Barber (2 c Exceed and Excel – Trim by Lonhro) is the fifth foal out of Godolphin’s Group 3 winner Trim (Lonhro), herself a daughter of South Australian stakes winner Firm (Night Shift). The colt himself is a brother to Group 3 winner Manicure.