Written by Paul Vettise
New Zealand Stayer of the Year Charles Road (Myboycharlie {IRE}) has added serious momentum to his spring campaign. The G1 Melbourne Cup hopeful delivered a grand performance under topweight at Hastings to win Saturday’s Reliable Man Trophy.
Despite racing at a distance well short of his best, he was sharp enough to account for the front-runner Big Mike (NZ) (Don Eduardo {NZ}) who was in receipt of 11.5kg.
“That was very encouraging to see him do that and to see the manner in which he has come up,” said Andrew Scott, who trains with Lance O’Sullivan. “I’ll have to have a chat with Lance now and form a plan to go forward, whether we run again here or go to Australia I’m not sure at this stage.”
“That was very encouraging to see him do that and to see the manner in which the has come up,” - Andrew Scott.
Charles Road was ridden by former stable apprentice Sam Weatherley, who is temporarily home from a successful Sydney stint with Chris Waller. “It’s a pleasure to sit on him and I did a lot of work with him when I was with Lance and Andrew,” he said.
“For him to do this over a mile showed there are exciting times ahead because he’s a genuine stayer. It’s also good to come back here and ride, I love New Zealand.”
Group 2 success
He raced as Sir Charles Road during his last Australian campaign in the autumn when he won the G2 Chairman’s H., at Randwick and backed up to finish third in the G1 Sydney Cup a week later.
The five-year-old is raced by David Archer, whose colours were carried by the two-time New Zealand Horse of the Year and multiple Group 1 winner Mufhasa (NZ) (Pentire {GB}). “It’s a huge thrill, there’s nothing like winning races,” he said.
“It’s a huge thrill, there’s nothing like winning races.” – David Archer.
He purchased Charles Road out of Wentwood Grange’s Premier Sale draft at Karaka for NZ$90,000 in 2015. The gelding is out of Giant Mystique (Giant’s Causeway {IRE}) and is her second winner while another son Cavallo Veloce (NZ) (O’Reilly}) has been stakes placed and finished runner-up in the 3-year-old event at Hastings.
Watch: Charles Road was a $90,000 purchase from the Karaka Premier sale
A half-sister to the former Singapore Horse of the Year War Affair (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), Giant Mystique is a grand-daughter of four-time Group 1 winner Nastique (USA) (Naskra {USA}).
