Copy Gives Godolphin First Sydney Win
- Wednesday, 27 August 2014 07:53
Godolphin has posted its first Sydney winner since Sheikh Mohammed rebranded his Australian thoroughbred racing team to carry the world-famous stable's royal blue colours.
And while Copy will never be held in the same regard as some of her highly decorated stablemates, trainer John O'Shea was thankful the mare had enough recent racing to cope with testing ground in the Pro-Ride Handicap at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
O'Shea trained a Melbourne winner for Godolphin at the start of the month but wet tracks have conspired against the stable's early-season plans in Sydney.
"In Sydney we've had horses first-up on unsuitable tracks so far and Copy is one of the few horses that has shown she would be competitive on that sort of surface today," O'Shea said.
"Today she was the fit horse, she'd had a run at the mile and was back to 1400 (metres) and I think that stood her in good stead."
Copy settled worse than midfield but James McDonald allowed her to blend into the race with a wide run from the 800m.
Although she was the deepest runner into the straight, Copy's momentum helped her to get the better of Was Meant To Be and Sensualism.
O'Shea's main focus at Rosehill on Saturday will be on his three Run To The Rose acceptors.
He has Ghibellines, Kumaon and Sarajevo in the Listed race as they head towards the $1 million Golden Rose.
