El Vencedor Returns to Form at Ellerslie

[Wandering Eyes]

El Vencedor(NZ) (Shocking) is making a habit of picking up major victories at Ellerslie, adding the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) to his burgeoning record at Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting.

El Vencedor had a breakthrough five-year-old season last term, winning the Gr.3 Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m) and denying star mare Legarto with a tearaway victory in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at the venue in March.

Resuming over 1400m in early September, El Vencedor showed positive signs ahead of the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m), and despite finishing midfield in both races, his trainer Stephen Marsh was confident the gelding would strip a fit horse in his return to Ellerslie.

Many anticipated El Vencedor to cross and lead from barrier two, but jockey Joe Doyle allowed fellow pacemaker My Maebelline Girl to surge on speed, instead gaining cover behind race-favourite Wolfgang ($2.90). After getting an economical run in transit, the gelding was simply charging into the home turn and Doyle guided him to the centre of the track, where the contest was over in a matter of strides as he powered away from Wolfgang and Terra Mitica by 3-1/2 lengths.

Doyle has been El Vencedor’s regular rider through the past twelve months and indicated the lead-in runs had him primed for Tuesday’s feature.

“He was very good, we’ve known this performance was in him, but he took a good few runs last year before he really peaked,” he said.

“People were possibly doubting him a little bit, but we were always quite confident that it was there, he was just coming right and he showed that today. He’s a very much a horse to be reckoned with.

“We thought there was going to be a bit of speed on, so we said if no one wants to go we’ll go, but in an ideal world, we’ll get a bit of cover and it worked out lovely. I was following the horse I wanted to follow and I got a nice drag into the race.

“It suits him around there (Ellerslie), he gets into a really comfortable rhythm and the surface is really up his street, it’s consistent and was running a touch on the quick side at that time of the day, which is very much to his liking.

“He goes around there like he’s on rails.”

Marsh shared a similar opinion in the timing around El Vencedor, who will return to the course in December to tackle the Gr.1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m).

“He was very good today, he’s a horse that’s always taken a few runs to get going, and the Livamol third-up, he probably needed the run,” he said.

“The race panned out perfectly, Joe rode him an absolute treat just idling along in the one-one and the horse showed that he’s getting back to his very best again.

“Back at Ellerslie, on such a beautiful track, he was really dominant today which was great. I think it sets us up really well for summer racing, come the 26^th of December, he’ll be back here for the Zabeel Classic.

“We’ll see how he comes through, but we might bring him back to a mile at his next start, just as long as he’s peaking for the Group One at Ellerslie, that’s perfect.

“I think the track played beautifully, they were coming off the speed, coming from last, it was as fair a track as you could ask for. We went from a Dead 5 up to a Good 4 during the day, which I think is exactly how racing should be.”

El Vencedor has been racing consistently to a high standard since he was a two-year-old, but in recent seasons, Marsh put his rise to the top down to maturity.

“He’s always shown us that he’s very good, he’s run 1.08 over 1200m to win, and he’s always gone quite keenly in his races, but he’s really matured now,” he said.

“He’s started to race as a nice Shocking should, the mental development has been the big key and he’s gone from looking like he could run in a Railway, to relaxing and racing properly over ground.”

Fittingly on Melbourne Cup Day, El Vencedor is a son of 2009 Melbourne Cup victor Shocking, bred and raced by David Price and Mark Freeman. His dam, Strictly Maternal, passed away earlier this year, but was a highly-successful broodmare, also producing Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (2200m) winner Chocante and Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner Sky Darci.

The gelding’s career earnings are now just shy of $740,000, with eight wins and 13 minor placings from 35 starts.

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