Castlereagh Kid leads all the way in the Caulfield Autumn Classic

[Wandering Eyes]

Castlereagh Kid ridden by Damien Oliver returns to the mounting yard after winning the Autumn Classic at Caulfield. (George Sal/Racing Photos)

“From an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan,” those were the words that Gai Waterhouse used to describe her Autumn Classic-winning three-year-old Castlereagh Kid.

Having claimed a Gosford maiden a month ago, the Snitzel gelding has since gone on to claim a BM64 at Sandown last week, before coming to Caulfield and leading throughout the Group 2 event over 1400m.

The win was aided by an absolute peach of a steer from Damien Oliver, with the champion hoop gaining cheap sectionals at a crucial time which left Castlereagh Kid with plenty left in the tank when it mattered most.

Having been sent around as a $3.80 favourite with most online betting sites, Ollie made sure the favourite punters had no worries in the running when gaining a record fifth win in the race.

“Oliver summed it up well.”

A gutsy win from Castlereagh Kid & a perfect ride from Ollie who claims his fifth Autumn Classic win @GaiWaterhouse1 pic.twitter.com/vTBNmZQUmK

— Racing.com (@Racing) February 26, 2022

The win has now made it three in a row for the gelding, with Group 1 targets firmly on the agenda for the Waterhouse-Bott front-runner, which is remarkable considering the stable nearly sold him.

“Six months ago, we didn’t have his act together and we seriously thinking should we sell him?” an excited Waterhouse revealed post-race in her interview with Racing.com

“He was a bit of a plodder.”

Waterhouse said if he will certainly venture towards an ATC Derby later in the Autumn, but not before contesting a race at Flemington in a fortnight.

Castlereagh Kid’s win on Saturday handed the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott combination a second win in six years in the race having teamed up to take out the 2017 edition with Farson.

Since his win in the Group 2 event, Sportsbet have installed him as a $9 chance behind Hitotsu ($8) and Profondo ($8) in the ATC Derby (2400m) on April 2.

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