Regal Lion lands The Lester

[Wandering Eyes]

A bold move before the home turn carried Kiwi-bred gelding Regal Lion to victory in Saturday’s A$130,000 John Duff & Co The Lester (2025m) at Cranbourne.

Previously a Listed Ipswich Cup (2150m) winner and Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) placegetter, Regal Lion headed into Saturday’s Benchmark 84 handicap after running sixth at Moonee Valley on October 3 and at Caulfield on October 15, winning the Mortlake Cup (2000m) on November 1 and finishing fourth in last Sunday’s Moe Cup (2050m).

The seven-year-old was a $17 longshot for Saturday’s race, but upstaged his higher-rated rivals under a well-judged ride from Jamie Mott.

Regal Lion initially settled in third-last, but began to stride forward from the 800m mark. He pounced before the home turn, taking a clear lead as he came into the straight.

Despite beginning to tire in the closing stages, Regal Lion fought hard all the way down the straight and held on to win by half a length.

“I was hoping to be a bit closer in the run, but I would have had to use him to do so,” Mott said. “The tempo was genuine and I was hoping midway that they would slacken more and make it easier for me to do it, but they didn’t really slacken that much. I waited until just before the bottom corner to get moving.

“This horse was in good order for today and the team has done a great job with him. When I asked for an effort, he really responded well and for a good 700m too. It was a good effort.

“He was very genuine. He kept kicking, and every stride I asked for a bit more and he kept giving and giving. He was out on his feet late, the last few strides, but it was a good solid tempo and I got going quite early. He did a tremendous job.”

Local horseman Gavin Bedggood is the third different trainer of Regal Lion, who has now had a total of 46 starts for five wins, six placings and A$599,163 in stakes.

“I thought I had been too soft on him in between Mortlake and Moe,” Bedggood said. “I watched him walk around the yard last week and he looked soft. I thought he should have run second and he blew out the last 100m. He’s a good-doing horse, so the back-up didn’t hold too many concerns. Richie, his strapper, rides him every day and had been happy with him all week. He had a little jump this morning, which we do quite often leading into a run. He was quiet coming in, had a good blood on Thursday and all the indicators were there for a good run.

“I thought he might have been a pair closer in the running, but I told Jamie to ride him where he was going to travel. He won an Ipswich Cup in a similar fashion and he won a Mortlake Cup recently. He doesn’t have a great change up speed, but if you throw the cat amongst the pigeons and if you get run down late, that’s on me. I would rather you get going 100 yards too early than 100 yards too late and wait for other horses to get going.”

Originally trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman for owner-breeders Barbara and Carl McComb, Regal Lion was a maiden winner at Rotorua in November of his three-year-old season.

Subsequently partially sold to OTI Racing, he stepped up when third behind Asterix and La Crique in the 2022 New Zealand Derby, while he was also runner-up in the Gr.2 Tulloch Stakes (1850m) before relocating to the Annabel Archibald stable and winning the Ipswich Cup in June of 2023.

By ill-fated former Novara Park stallion Jakkalberry, Regal Lion is the first foal out of the Congrats mare Red Delight, who has subsequently produced four foals by Shocking including the three-race winner Liquid Fire.

Unplaced on the track, Red Delight is a granddaughter of Group One winner Danglissa and closely related to big-race performers Unite And Conquer, Profiteer and Sweet Redemption

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