Bridge Back in the Winner’s Circle: Celestial Legend Claims 2024 Doncaster Mile Glory

[Wandering Eyes]

Les Bridge etched his name deeper into Doncaster Mile history, training Celestial Legend to a thrilling victory in the 2024 edition of the prestigious race. This marked Bridge’s second Doncaster Mile win, an incredible feat achieved 39 years after his first triumph with Row Of Waves in 1985.

Doncaster Mile 2024 winner Celestial Legend was enormous late down the outside to post his third straight win. Photo: Steve Hart.

The Group 1 $4 million Doncaster Mile (1600m) on Day 1 of The Championships boasted a stellar line-up, but it was the classy three-year-old Celestial Legend who soared to the top.

“This is some horse, believe me,” Bridge declared after the emotional win. “I’ve had a lot of good horses, but this horse is unbelievable.”

Celestial Legend cemented his dominance with this victory, completing a Sydney triple after his prior wins in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes and the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (over 1400m and 1600m respectively).

Following his demanding performance in the Randwick Guineas, Bridge strategically eased him back into training before the Doncaster at the same distance. This proved to be a masterstroke, as Celestial Legend thrived with the weight reduction from 56.5kg to a mere 49kg.

“I knew he hadn’t gone backwards,” Bridge explained. “I just gave him a nice easy trial. I just love the horse.”

A crucial jockey change saw Tyler Schiller take the reins in place of Kerrin McEvoy on the light weight. Schiller executed a masterful ride, coming from an unlikely position to steal the show in a dramatic finish.

The early stages saw Phearson take the lead from a wide barrier, while the top-weighted Think About It made a strong push around the home turn. Another Wil, the Prelude winner, also loomed as a threat entering the straight.

The James Cummings-trained Pericles ($41) emerged as a surprise contender, while Chris Waller‘s three-time Group 1 winner Militarize ($11) displayed his customary fighting spirit, launching a late charge up the inside.

However, all eyes were drawn to the far outside as Celestial Legend ($6.50) unleashed a powerful surge, overtaking Pericles in a heart-stopping photo finish. Militarize continued his consistent run this season by securing third place, adding another top-level placing to his record.

“I didn’t think he could win,” Bridge admitted, still in disbelief. “I thought ‘he won’t get out.’ They just don’t do that, do they? He’s terrific. He’s a superstar.”

2024 Doncaster Mile Results

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	19	CELESTIAL LEGEND	Les Bridge	Tyler Schiller		4	49kg		$6.50
	2	3	PERICLES	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	0.67L	14	54.5kg		$41
	3	4	MILITARIZE (NZ)	Chris Waller	Zac Purton	0.71L	3	54kg		$11
	4	21e	NUGGET (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Declan Bates	0.75L	7	51.5kg		$26
	5	22e	HINGED	Chris Waller	Craig Williams	1.91L	12	50kg (cd 51kg)		$21
	6	8	DETONATOR JACK (NZ)	Ciaron Maher	Tim Clark	2.1L	1	52.5kg		$12
	7	18	ANOTHER WIL	Ciaron Maher	Ms Jamie Kah	2.38L	16	50kg		$3.60F
	8	13	DEMOCRACY MANIFEST	Chris Waller	Jay Ford	2.73L	9	51kg		$18
	9	7	KOVALICA (NZ)	Chris Waller	Tommy Berry	2.75L	10	53.5kg		$20
	10	10	RUSTIC STEEL	Kris Lees	Regan Bayliss	2.88L	5	52kg (cd 52.5kg)	1.0kg	$51
	11	1	THINK ABOUT IT	Joseph Pride	Sam Clipperton	3.22L	13	57kg		$21
	12	15	LOCH EAGLE	Kris Lees	Dylan Gibbons (a)	3.27L	18	51kg (cd 52kg)		$101
	13	2	OBAMBURUMAI (JPN)	Keiji Yoshimura	Damian Lane	3.42L	6	55kg		$8
	14	9	BERKSHIRE SHADOW (GB)	Ciaron Maher	Andrew Adkins	3.8L	11	52.5kg		$101
	15	16	LINDERMANN	Chris Waller	Zac Lloyd (a)	3.88L	17	50.5kg		$16
	16	24e	PALMETTO (NZ)	John Sargent	Ms Molly Bourke (a)	3.94L	2	51kg		$151
	17	23e	NAVAJO PEAK	David Payne	Ms Rachel King	8.82L	15	52.5kg		$101
	18	12	LADY LAGUNA	Annabel Neasham	Michael Dee	11.27L	8	51kg		$11
	19	14	PHEARSON	Brad Widdup	Ron Stewart	15.45L	19	51kg	1.0kg	$151
		17	SEMANA	Ciaron Maher	Andrew Adkins		0
		20	SOUTHPORT TYCOON	Ciaron Maher	Ms Rachel King		0
		5	ZOUGOTCHA	Chris Waller	Craig Williams		0		2.0kg
		11	ATTRACTABLE	Sara Ryan	Reece Jones		0
		6	GOLDEN MILE	James Cummings	Jason Collett		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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