Loyalty reaps rewards in Group Two
A STUNNING hour of power for trainer Emma Stewart smashed two long-held Mildura records in Mildura last night.
Phoenix Prince’s Pacing Cup win lowered the 2600-metre mark previously held by Im The Boss by four-tenths of a seconds, just one race after his stablemate, Cant Top This, broke Major Crocker’s 2190-metre record which had stood since 2016.
Both were eye-catching performances, but it was the Cup they all came for, particularly Quinlan, with the $60,000 Group Two her only race for the night.
“Emma and Clayton have been really good to me and this horse is quite special,” Quinlan said.
“They put me on him one of my very first drives back from injury. They took the risk, I hadn’t driven for 12 months and they gave me a drive in a Cranbourne Cup on him and I was just lucky enough that he won.
“So I’ve been able to get back on him since, had a bit of luck on him and he’s been going great.”
And Quinlan was ready to fight to keep the drive on the talented eight-year-old.
“Clayton rang me when the heats were on and said (Mildura’s) ‘a long way for you to go’. He said ‘Mark (Pitt’s) going to go up, is it all right if he drives (Phoenix Prince)’?
“I said, ‘yeah that’s fine, as long as I get to drive him in the final, otherwise I’ll drive the five and a half hours so I don’t lose the drive’. But he said, ‘no, it’s your drive in the final’, so he’s true to his word and that’s why I’m here tonight.”
It again proved a winning combination in an eventful final, with Mailman initially holding all at bay off the gate to lead, but it was the back row that brought the drama.
Scott Ewen worked forward on Bulletproof Boy and briefly appeared to tangle with Boots Electric, which saw the latter break stride.
Bulletproof Boy then advanced to the front and, once they settled, Quinlan took off on Phoenix Prince to assume the lead, with stablemate and fellow heat winner Our Millionaire settling on her outside and Bulletproof Boy on her back.
They maintained even quarters and then opened up for the run to the line, with Phoenix Prince in a class of his own amid a 56.9-second last half, winning by 12 metres from Our Millionaire with Bulletproof Boy finishing third and Boots Electric recovering well to complete the top four.
The win was Phoenix Prince’s second in the week, following on from his heat victory, which was his first victory since the 2020 Shepparton Gold Cup that preceded a long injury lay-off.
“He’s a super old horse,” Quinlan said. “Hats off to Emma and Clayton, he’s had more injuries than me and he’s come back better than ever or as good as he’s ever been.
“When he’s right he can sprint, he can do it a bit tough and he’s fast out of the gate, he can do everything.
“Clayton and Emma have looked after him. He’s always drawn out the back and he really deserved to win a Cup, because a couple of his cup runs were fantastic.”
- HRV Media