Svindal had an impressive victory on his track debut at the Lindsay Australia Ltd Bundaberg Gold Cup at Thabeban Park on Saturday.
The five-year-old was the second-favourite paying $3 and got up to overrun promising three-year-old and favourite Dare to Share ($2.50) before drawing away to win by 1.25 lengths.
Local hope and 2021 Bundaberg Cup champion Wrecking Ball ($3) was a distant third at a further 5.75 lengths away.
Gladstone trained Svindal (60.5kgs) has now won five of his past eight starts – twice on his home track, and once at both Rockhampton and Mackay – with also one second and one third, and his only unplaced run being at Doomben in March.
His other five victories from a total of 37 appearances have been at Rockhampton and Mackay, both twice, after he won his maiden at Sunshine Coast in February 2020, and he took his stake earnings to $137,190 so far.
Svindal has been trained throughout his career by Ian Prizeman, apart from three runs in June-July last year when in the temporary care of Cameron Taylor after resuming from a seven-month spell.
He was superbly ridden by Sunshine Coast jockey Matthew Powell, who maintained his perfect record in three times he has ridden him, after also piloting him to victory at Gladstone on May 28 and June 25, when Wrecking Ball was runner-up.
Svindal is by Group 3 winning sire Albrecht, a son of super-sire Redoute’s Choice, out of Magistra, which was a winner in her nine starts, and whose dam Magistra Delecta was by Al Akbar, which was also sire of the immortal Winx’s dam Vegas Showgirl, and was placed at Group 1 level for champion trainer Peter Moody.
Magistra Delecta’s dam Grosvenor’s Girl was by champion racehorse and sire Grosvenor, whose wins included the Victoria Derby, out of Ballerina Heights, which was an unraced full sister to former ultra-popular New Zealand warrior Battle Heights, which won 23 of his 115 starts over a long and distinguished career, including the 1973 Sydney Cup and 1974 Cox Plate, and ran second in the 1976 Caulfield Cup as a nine-year-old.
Svindal provided Matthew with the third leg of a winning treble after he also took out the Nufarm/Visy Class B aboard Clairvue Jet ($4.80) for Sunshine Coast trainer Trevor Thomas, and Bundaberg’s premier sprint, the 850m Haifa Lightning, on Dynamic Verse, a $2.20 favourite, for Chinchilla trainer Len Mawn.
Matthew had also racked up a treble at Gympie a week earlier, after also notching doubles at Gympie on June 18, and Gladstone on June 25, and he continued his golden run by notching another double at Kilcoy yesterday.
Dynamic Verse had finished last of eight behind Wrecking Ball in his only previous venture to the Rum City on Melbourne Cup Day last year, but his form in four starts following a four-month spell had been hard to fault, winning at Cunnamulla on Anzac Day, then placing third at both Chinchilla and Injune, before returning to the winners’ list at Roma on July 9.
He also drew away over the concluding stages to cross the line 1.5 lengths in advance of Ramtastic ($2.70), with 11-year-old grand Toowoomba evergreen Hard Stride a further 7.75 lengths adrift in third position.
The five-year-old now boasts eight wins and 11 minor placings from 35 starts for $144,350 prizemoney to date.
Matthew was also runner-up in the opening event, the Integrated Packaging Group Maiden Plate, on the Trevor Thomas-trained outsider Beaueta ($8), behind Daulat Ulti Maiora ($2.45), which was ridden by 18-year-old apprentice Shania Willis, who savoured her fifth victory at her Bundaberg debut after having her first race ride on March 26.
Daulat Ulti Maiora, which had run second behind Clairvue Jet at Gympie one week earlier, and placed third at his only previous Bundaberg appearance on December 11 last year, is owned and trained in Wondai by Peter Blackwell.
Only one local was a winner on the program, outsider Daunting Princess ($9) in the Incitec Pivot/Rivulis QTIS Benchmark 60 Handicap, ridden by another 18-year-old apprentice Lilli Barr, for popular trainer Mary Hassam, who also bred the three-year-old filly and owns her in partnership with her husband Ross, who was also formerly a highly successful trainer.
Daunting Princess had also got the money at her previous start at Thangool.
Pat Duff, who is based at Deagon and has been one of the state’s top trainers over many years, gained consolation for Dare to Share’s second in the Cup, when he took out the next event, the Higgins Coatings Benchmark 50, with hot favourite Jeno ($1.50), which made light of his impost of 61kg, to career away to a 10.5 length victory, with Eidsvold trainer Bob Murray filling the minor placings with Galvarino and Ourlastpenny respectively.
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