Lankan Rupee confirmed his ranking as Australia’s best sprinter with an all-the-way win in the Group One TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
Unbeaten since he was gelded after a spring campaign, Lankan Rupee made a one-act affair of the $2.5 million weight-for-age race.
The result was never in doubt as Lankan Rupee extended brilliantly from the 400m after jockey Craig Newitt decided to make all the running on the $3.80 favourite.
It was left to Rebel Dane to run on for second with Buffering holding down third.
“He can go anywhere in the world now and be dominant,” Newitt said.
Lankan Rupee’s unbeaten autumn sequence also includes Group One wins in the Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap.
| Race 7 – 3:50PM DARLEY T J SMITH STAKES (1200 METRES) |
|---|
| Of $2,500,000.1st $1,500,000, 2nd $500,000, 3rd $250,000, 4th $125,000, 5th $50,000, 6th $25,000, 7th $25,000, 8th $25,000 GROUP 1 Standard Weight for Age, Apprentices cannot claim.Track Condition: Heavy 9 Time: 1:12.14 Last 600m: 0:37.20 INTERIM RESULTS |
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | LANKAN RUPEE | Mick Price | Craig Newitt | 1 | 58.5kg | $3.80F | |||
| 2 | 5 | REBEL DANE | Gary Portelli | Glen Boss | 2L | 5 | 58.5kg | $9 | ||
| 3 | 1 | BUFFERING | Robert Heathcote | Damian Browne | 2.1L | 2 | 58.5kg | $10 | ||
| 4 | 6 | TIGER TEES (NZ) | Joseph Pride | Nash Rawiller | 3.5L | 3 | 58.5kg | $19 | ||
| 5 | 13 | SEE THE WORLD | Joseph Pride | Christian Reith | 3.6L | 12 | 58.5kg | $61 | ||
| 6 | 2 | GORDON LORD BYRON (IRE) | Tom Hogan | Craig Williams | 3.7L | 8 | 58.5kg | $5.50 | ||
| 7 | 8 | SHAMEXPRESS (NZ) | Danny O’Brien | Damien Oliver | 4.6L | 11 | 58.5kg | $26 | ||
| 8 | 18 | VILLA VERDE | Anthony Cummings | James McDonald | 5.6L | 9 | 54.5kg | $10 | ||
| 9 | 17 | SWEET IDEA | Gai Waterhouse | Tommy Berry | 6L | 13 | 54.5kg | $8.50 | ||
| 10 | 11 | SESSIONS | Peter Snowden | Kerrin McEvoy | 6.9L | 14 | 58.5kg | $26 | ||
| 11 | 10 | FAMOUS SEAMUS (NZ) | Noel Mayfield-Smith | Tim Clark | 7.6L | 6 | 58.5kg | $41 | ||
| 12 | 14 | SNITZERLAND | Gerald Ryan | Brenton Avdulla | 8.6L | 15 | 56.5kg | $16 | ||
| 13 | 15 | STEPS IN TIME | Joseph Pride | Blake Shinn | 9.3L | 10 | 56.5kg | $21 | ||
| 14 | 7 | BEL SPRINTER | Jason Warren | Chad Schofield | 10.4L | 7 | 58.5kg | $51 | ||
| 15 | 12 | AERONAUTICAL | Lionel Cohen | John Kissick (a) | 11.8L | 4 | 58.5kg | $101 | ||
| 19 | IRISH FLING (NZ) | Guy Lowry & Grant Cullen | 0 | |||||||
| 21 | PERON | John P Thompson | Joao Moreira | 0 | ||||||
| 20 | FLAMBERGE | Peter G Moody | 0 | |||||||
| 9 | FONTELINA | Anthony Cummings | Hugh Bowman | 0 | ||||||
| 16 | ZOUSTAR | Chris Waller | Jim Cassidy | 0 | ||||||
| 4 | SPIRIT OF BOOM | Tony Gollan | Michael Rodd | 0 |
