Beautiful Romance got her nose down at the right time to record a narrow victory in a thrilling edition of the 2016 Zipping Classic at Ladbrokes Park this afternoon.
Beautiful Romance, Almoonqith and Big Orange fought out the finish in the Zipping Classic. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
There were a host of winning chances at the 100 metre mark in the Zipping Classic and Almoonqith looked as though he was going to swamp Big Orange and Beautiful Romance on the outside, but Beautiful Romance fought back in the final stride to score an impressive victory.
Jockey Glyn Schofield said that he went into the Zipping Classic with plenty of confidence and he believes that the victory was even better than it looked to the naked eye due to the fact that Beautiful Romance lost momentum at the top of the straight.
“She showed in the Cup that she was really tough after mucking at the start and picking herself up before really running home for a strong finish,” Schofield said.
“I came here today with a lot of confidence that she would stay, but halfway around the corner there she seemed to just get a bit tightened for room and she didn’t quiet enjoy that because she lost a bit of momentum.
“I found a nice split in the run and she just kept coming resolutely to the line.
“To just lose a little bit of momentum can be vital to you winning or losing, but fortunately she was able to pick herself up again and keep going.
“She is unbelievably fit and unbelievably strong.”
The victory of Beautiful Romance capped off a stellar day for Godolphin, who had previously won the Sandown Cup with Qewy and the Ladbrokes Sandown Guineas with Morton’s Fork.
Godolphin representative Andy Makiv said that unsure whether the Godolphin operation had previously won three different black-type races on the same day with three different trainers and was thrilled to see Beautiful Romance come through her Melbourne Cup run in such strong fashion.
“She was very brave in the Melbourne Cup and form from the Melbourne Cup into this race quiet often holds up,” Makiv said.
“She certainly presented with a great chance and she ran right up to it.
“For Saeed to get the job done is fantastic, John O’Shea has had a Stakes winner today and Charlie Appleby has had a Stakes winner today.
“It is an extraordinary day and a great day for Sheik Mohammed.”
Almoonqith looked as though he had the race won, but according to jockey Damien Oliver pulled up when he hit the front, while Big Orange kept on fighting to finish third.
