A start in The Everest for Brutal is up in the air after he trampled his opponents in the Group 2 $500,000 Bisley Workwear Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick today.
Brutal, above, scored a handy win in the Premiere Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
The Team Hawkes trained Brutal ($5) left in his wake two of the highly fancied contenders for the $14m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 19 when Tommy Berry pushed him out to record a commanding win over the James Cummings trained Home Of The Brave ($31).
The Les Bridge trained Classique Legend ($2.25 favourite) tried hard in the straight to fill third spot ahead of Kris Lees’ Graff ($9.50).
Third placegetter Classique Legend is down to run in the Everest slot owned by Bon Ho and Carmel Size Racing while the Cummings trained Osborne Bulls was in contention to fill the Godolphin slot.
Osborne Bulls ($3) failed to fire and struggled to match it with the rest of the field to finish at the tail of the five horse Premiere Stakes field.
Winning jockey Tommy Berry had Brutal travelling smoothly in second spot from the start and once the field topped the rise, he released the brakes and was able to get past the leader Home Of The Brave while Classique Legend made up some ground from back in the field.
Brutal is yet to be included in The Everest field and co-trainer Michael Hawkes said that if an offer came overnight, the Team would not make a hasty decision but see how Brutal recovered from today’s first up win.
“They are things we don’t discuss on race day. We are a stable that loves to see how our horses pull up. He will be on everyone’s talking points. Is he good enough to run – of course he is. Will we run – that is yet to be determined,” Michael Hawkes said.
“He is just an absolute magnificent colt. I said to the owners today he is first up, he has a long way to go, if he beats them today he is the real, real deal. He is just a pure athlete, he was there to be beaten. Tommy rode him good, did everything right, he’s a superstar.”
“I said to Tommy before the race and said ride your horse where you need to be. I don’t care what is in the race. Just do what you have to do to get this bloke over the line. Be wary that he is first up. Just shows what the fight of a true horse is.”
Brutal has firmed dramatically in the betting for The Everest from $31 to $10 with Ladbrokes.com.au.
