Having had a close look at the nominal Melbourne Cup favourite, it’s on to the Cox Plate, where Sacred Falls well and truly staked his claim for favouritism by emphatically winning the George Main Stakes on Saturday.
This was somewhat of a watershed for Sacred Falls as it represented his first win in Australia on a dry track, as well as his first from 12 starts here on a surface better than heavy.
Despite his consistency in this country this became only his third win from 16 starts here, and his first win from 7 attempts at weight-for-age.
Not that we shouldn’t have seen it coming after four efforts at that level where he had been beaten less than two lengths, including a super second in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 2000 metres which closed out a fruitful Autumn campaign, in which he took out his second Randwick mile from three attempts.
Sacred Falls started his career in New Zealand in the care of trainers Tony Pike and Mark Donoghue, and amazingly won all of his first six starts, 2 as a two-year-old and 4 at age three. Notably, 2 of those wins were on good rated tracks.
In the Autumn of 2013 he was transferred to Chris Waller in Sydney and took a while to find his feet. Two unplaced efforts in the Royal Sovereign and then Randwick Guineas were followed by a respectable second to the boom New Zealander It’s A Dundeel, albeit beaten by seven lengths.
Switched back to a mile at his next start in the Doncaster, he posted a surprise win at juicy odds on a very heavy track and really hasn’t looked back since. Given the place-getters there were a champion three-year-old in Pierro, and the up-and-coming Bart Cummings mare Norzita (who earlier in that campaign had beaten Lankan Rupee’s recent vanquisher Angelic Light in super time at Moonee Valley), we really shouldn’t be surprised. Back in fourth was the Guy Walter trained AJC Oakes winning mare Streama, who would later close out her career winning a Hollindale Cup and Doomben Cup during the Winter of 2014.
A mark of how far Sacred Falls had come in the space of 12 months was measured by his rate of improvement against It’s A Dundeel. In the Rosehill Guineas at 2000 metres in 2013 he was spanked when runner-up by seven lengths. But in the Queen Elizabeth at the same trip last April he managed to get within a length, once again in second place.
The fact that both horses had three lengths to spare on English Derby placed Carlton House, and the very in-form New Zealand mare Silent Achiever, leaves us in no doubt that this horse is not just a miler, and deserves his spot at the head of the market in Australia’s premier WFA race at 2040 metres this Spring.
Some may argue that he is a merely a Randwick horse, with all his Australian wins thus far at a mile on that track, and his excellent second in the Queen Elizabeth at WFA, arguably his best career effort.
But they would be forgetting two Melbourne runs last Spring, where he was beaten less than half a length at Moonee Valley (Waterford Crystal Mile), and less than a length at Flemington again at a mile in the Emirates Stakes.
Amazingly they represent his only defeats from six starts on left-handed tracks, having already acquired four wins in that direction at home in New Zealand.
Few may realise how amazingly consistent this horse has been in space of the last 12 months. In 12 outings during that time, he is yet to be beaten more than three lengths, and in the vast majority of those the margin has been less than two lengths (including two wins).
His start prior in the Autumn was his win in the Doncaster, so he really is a horse that hasn’t quite given the credit he deserves.
Chris Waller has him firing on all cylinders, and it’s really hard to find a chink in his armour. It’s actually quite frightening to consider that he might still be reaching his full potential as a five-year-old.
Arguably he doesn’t need to improve at all to win the Cox Plate given that run in the Queen Elizabeth during the Autumn, but in all likelihood he has, and will continue to.
He has already performed very well at Moonee Valley, and we now know he can hit a peak on any track surface. Those punters who enjoy futures betting will certainly have him at the top of their list given that factor.
He is a tough, seasoned campaigner and that’s what is required to win the best WFA race in Australia at a middle distance.
Make no mistake about it, Sacred Falls is going to one tough nut to crack in this year’s Cox Plate.
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