Big Wigs (AUS)
2 c Gold Standard – Nooks And Crannies by Denman
O: Makybe Racing & Breeding Pty Ltd (Mgr: T M Santic), Cavalluccio (Mgr: D V Gangi), Collins St Partners (Mgr: B N Griffith), Megalo Peroukas (Mgr: S Bilalis), M N Spartels, N M Spartels, D J Slater, NP Garland & B J Maher
B: Makybe Racing & Breeding
T: Phillip Stokes
W: VOBIS Platinum Showdown, 1200m, March 14, Caulfield
Two weeks after the death of champion mare Makybe Diva (Desert King), the well-known Tony Santic silks were carried to success by the Phillip Stokes-trained Big Wigs (Gold Standard) in last Saturday’s $1 million VOBIS Platinum Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield.
Having finished second in both his starts previously, the colt defeated Miss Chanel (Tagaloa) by 0.1 lengths and the pair pulled 5.3 lengths clear of the third-placed Knurl (Brazen Beau).
“It’s super,” said Neindorf. “It almost makes me a little bit emotional, really. It’s been such a big couple weeks for these colours, obviously, with the passing of the great mare.
“It’s just a privilege whenever you put colours like these on and to go out there and get the job done in a nice two-year-old makes it that extra special.
“He was a little bit keen at Ballarat in behind them and when I brought him to the outside he really went down through his gears. I was aware of that today.
“I think we were all a bit worried when the barrier draw came out, but it was a blessing in disguise in the end because we had all the three main dangers drawn inside of us.
“I wasn’t sure where they were going to be but I was confident that I would end up on the back of one of them and I was confident that my horse had a good turn of foot and the extra rise in distance was going to suit him that little bit more.
“To be honest, I probably still let him go a little bit earlier. I probably could have straightened up and held onto him for an extra 50 metres before putting him through his gears because, jeez, he got there fast.”
A half-sister to the Group 2-placed Cavity Bay (Cable Bay), who also finished fourth in the Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) and fifth in the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m), Big Wigs is the second winner from three to race out of the Denman (Lonhro) mare Nooks And Crannies.
Nooks And Crannies has a yearling a filly by Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) and after missing to Benbatl (Dubawi) last season, was covered by King’s Gambit (Saxon Warrior) in the spring.
A Group 1 now beckons for Big Wigs, with the colt’s connections having paid up for the Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m).