Hawkspur has been included in the 2015 Chelmsford Stakes field and the enigmatic galloper has the chance to record an historic third straight victory in the Group 2 event at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Hawkspur beat stablemate Royal Descent to take out the 2014 edition of the Chelmsford Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart
Hawkspur went into the 2013 edition of the Chelmsford Stakes on the second line of betting behind Veyron and stablemate Beaten Up, but he produced an outstanding performance that defied the pattern of the day to win by more than three lengths.
The Purrealist gelding went a year without recording another race win and he went into last year’s Chelmsford Stakes as one of the outsiders in the field, but he led from start to finish to record a narrow victory from stablemates Royal Descent and Bagman.
Hawkspur joined The Chief (1898 and 1899), Prince Foote (1909 and 1910), Duke Foote (1912 and 1913), Rogilla (1933 and 1934), Prince Darius (1957 and 1958), Kingston Town (1980 and 1981), Stargazer (1990 and 1991) and Lonhro (2002 and 2003) as back-to-back winners of the Chelmsford Stakes, but he will become the first horse since Roman Consul in 1969 to win the Chelmsford Stakes for the third year in a row if he is successful this weekend.
The five-year-old has not won a race since his Chelmsford Stakes triumph last year and he was unable to get into the race when he finished 11th behind Royal Descent in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on August 22, but jockey Tommy Berry is hopeful that the Group 1 winner will be competitive in his favourite race this weekend.
“I am pretty sure that he has won the race the last two years and he has a great record in the race,” Berry said.
“He likes the tracks soft and we might get that on Saturday.
“He is a horse that is always honest, he is rarely far away and he is in the right sort of race again on Saturday.
“It is going to be very tough and it is probably one of the best fields that I have seen in this race for a number of years, but he will be thereabouts.”
Hawkspur is currently available at 2015 Chelmsford Stakes odds of $41 with Ladbrokes, while Godolphin stayer Hartnell ($3.30) remains a narrow favourite from Doncaster Mile winner Kermadec ($4), Warwick Stakes winner Royal Descent ($4.40) and Gai Waterhouse-trained Pornichet ($5.50).
