Saturday, 2nd November 2024
All enquiries - Gary Knowles 0406 599 773
Some three weeks ago, Godolphin’s Group 1-winning Astern son Golden Mile won the Gr2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) where he defeated The Inevitable (Dundeel) in an exciting finish. The latter is the $7 favourite in an anyone-wins renewal of the Gr1 Epsom Handicap, whilst the former is at a remarkable $21 quote. The fact he’s drawn one from the outside in a capacity field obviously doesn’t help, however the Gr1 Caulfield Guineas winner will have no problem getting the mile and is a genuine talent. Trainer James Cummings believes his charge is being somewhat overlooked, and had some interesting observations when interviewed by SENtrack on Thursday. “I think he’s a genuine chance in the Epsom and I love the way he went about winning last time. Blake [Shinn] has got his work cut out for him, but it’s not entirely impossible for widely drawn runners to win big mile races at Randwick,” said Cummings. He observed, “He’s two out of three over 1600m, he’s a winner at the Randwick mile on a good track. He’s a Caulfield Guineas winner who gets into this race with 55kg, he’s meeting a few horses pretty well at the weights.” Cummings summarised, “He’s certainly got the turn-of-foot required to be a competitive Epsom runner, so I feel Golden Mile has got a very good chance. He will have to be good, but he is a good horse!”
