2025 News
No joy for Geoglyph in Doncaster Mile
Geoglyph
Six-year-old Geoglyph had no luck in running when finishing 18th of the 20 runners in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Doncaster Mile at Royal Randwick in Sydney. So often a flag-bearer for Japan in races all over the world, it was his 13th start in a Grade 1, but success at the top level has eluded him since he won the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) as a 3-year-old in 2022. The Tetsuya Kimura-trained Geoglyph had been reportedly working well prior to Saturday’s race, training with a lot of energy and pleasing his connections. Unlike Obamburumai in last year’s race, who encountered heavy ground, the track condition at Randwick last Saturday was rated as good. The AUD 4 million-dollar-handicap race was full of talent this year, and Geoglyph was handed the widest gate (20), together with the 55kg he had to carry. Starting slowly from the outside gate, Geoglyph ended up settling at the back of the field, while the trio upfront, comprising of Rise At Dawn, Pericles and Royal Patronage, put on the early pace, which wasn’t particularly quick. It enabled the eventual winner, Stefi Magnetica, to sit in a handy position just off the pace under jockey Jason Collett. The three frontrunners led the field into the homestraight, when things got busy on the run for home. Geoglyph turned in just about last, and it was too much to ask for him to make up ground at the end after his slow start. Stefi Magnetica pounced late with her turn of foot to just get up and win, ahead of Royal Patronage and Encap, who took second and third respectively. The race was run in a time of 1 minute 35.28 seconds. Of Geoglyph’s defeat, jockey Damian Lane said: “It was too bad that he started slowly from his outside gate. It meant that he couldn’t run a good race, and make up the ground that he lost at the start.” More consolation perhaps could be given to Geoglyph, with a number of the fancied runners also finishing out of the money in the tricky handicap. Best of all, though, is that he seems to have come out of the race with no problem at all, and connections are now eyeing a run for him in this Saturday’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, also at Randwick, where Rousham Park, another runner for Japan, is among the nominations. * Please visit the following website for more information. |
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