Wind And The Lion wins $500,000 Placid Ark, justifying months of expectation from punters about prized gelding
Long-time Listed $500,000 TABtouch Placid Ark Stakes (1200m) favourite Wind And The Lion justified months of lofty wraps by landing the big feature on day one of the Pinnacles carnival.
The $3.80 TABtouch elect was hunted forward by jockey Chris Parnham but could only get as close as seventh, with Golden Vale ($31) kicking up to lead and London’s Image ($18) forcing the pace out three-wide.
Approaching the home bend, Parnham latched onto the back of London’s Image who had moved to challenge London’s Image with the two joint leaders by the 350m mark.
Parnham continued to hold onto Wind And The Lion until the 250m when he finally cut the ribbons, but still had at least three lengths to find on the front-runners.
Finally, inside the last 100m, the frantic pace began to fold and Wind And The Lion launched a final flurry to grab the lead 30m from the post.
He drew away to win by a half-length from London’s Image and Golden Vale, who were separated by just a nose.
Camera IconConnections of Wind And The Lion celebrate. Credit: Simon Merritt/Simon Merritt / Western Racepix
Earlier, Rope Them In ($8) further enhanced his prospects for the Winterbottom Stakes in a fortnight’s time with victory in the Group 3 $200,000 Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m).
Settling back fourth last, the Steve Wolfe-trained gelding was level-pegging with Western Empire ($2.60) by the 600m, but crucially was able to make ground around the outside while the favourite was pinned on the fence.
Peeling five-wide once straightening, Rope Them In sizzled to the front with 200m to go, with Western Empire finally gaining clear running to charge after him.
Camera IconRope Them In. Credit: Simon Merritt/Simon Merritt / Western Racepix
But Rope Them In’s brilliant dash proved too much to overcome, with the four-year-old holding on to score by three-quarters-of-a-length.
Another son of Playing God would later claim Group 3 glory, with Mojo Rhythm regaining top form by winning his first race since last year’s edition of the $200,000 R J Peters Stakes (1500m) and banking his place for another attempt at the Railway Stakes next week.
The gelding hit the bridle hard after the start, with jockey Patrick Carbery tugging against the six-year-old to restrain him back to third last before weaving through congestion nearing the turn.
The $26 roughie let down inside the final 200m to claim the front just before the post before holding off the late thrust of Yonga Lass ($6).
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