Cellarmaster toughs it out to land Winx Guineas breakthrough
The Tom Charlton-trained gelding Cellarmaster (Bivouac) was all-heart in Saturday’s Winx Guineas (Gr 3, 1600m), bursting from well back in the field to land a stakes breakthrough in the Group 3 feature at the Sunshine Coast.
From the immediate family of champion New Zealand mare Melody Belle (Commands), the three-year-old demonstrated some of the 14-time Group 1 heroine’s will to win as he powered up the straight under Ryan Maloney to seize the race from Platinum Pantheon (Hanseatic) – who had looked home and hosed at the 150-metre mark.
The official winning margin was 0.3 lengths, with Rustemo (Russian Revolution) another 1.3 lengths adrift in third. Favourite Within The Law (Lucky Vega) faded late to finish sixth.
Third to Sixties (Flying Artie) in the Phar Lap Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m) at Rosehill in the autumn, Cellarmaster has been busy since his maiden victory at Randwick in December, with Saturday marking his eighth start of the year.
He had travelled up to Queensland for the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) back in January, finishing eighth, before landing his second victory at Canterbury in February prior to his Group 2 placing.
Upon returning to the Sunshine State last start, Cellarmaster posted a fifth-placed finish in the Gunsynd Classic (Gr 3, 1600m) at Eagle Farm, 4.4 lengths behind winner Skyhook (Written Tycoon).
“He ran fifth last time having been last, so we came here pretty confident but we did think the favourite [Within The Law] would be hard to beat,” part-owner Robert Canceri said.
“It didn’t look too good for us at the 200-metre mark, but he certainly picked them up impressively in the last 100 metres.
“We flew up here from Sydney for the race, hopefully it’s the start of a big week for New South Wales and we can stick it to the Queenslanders in the State of Origin on Wednesday night.”
Riding Cellarmaster for the first time, Moloney was confident of a bold show and praised the gelding’s intestinal fortitude to haul in the runner-up.
“He was a victim of circumstance last time,” the winning rider said. “He ran really well at Eagle Farm but he was never able to make a proper impact from where he was. I thought he was the best horse in the race, and when we got cover I was pretty pleased with myself.
“When we got out I thought we were going to run a nice second, because I saw Ben Thompson [aboard Platinum Pantheon] fly past me at a rate of knots. But it’s a nice long straight here and once he hit top gear I was delighted, so credit to the horse for digging deep and getting the job done.”
Cellarmaster was a $260,000 purchase out of Bhima Thoroughbreds for John O’Shea Racing and James Bester Bloodstock at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Bred by Mrs N M Leicester, he is the first foal out of the unplaced mare Moet Belle (Tavistock) – a half-sister to the great Melody Belle and full-sister to dual Listed winner Tutukaka, each out of Iffraaj (Zafonic) mare Meleka Belle.
Cellarmaster’s success was a sixth at stakes level for Darley’s Bivouac (Exceed And Excel), who currently sits atop of the Second Season Sires’ table.
The sire of 42 winners this season, the son of Exceed And Excel (Danehill) will stand the upcoming season at Kelvinside for $33,000 (inc GST).