Act Up has clinched a significant two-state juvenile double for Lindsay Park, outlasting fellow Victorian-trained colt Silent Intent to claim the $1 million Golden Gift at Rosehill.
The victory not only secures Act Up a berth in next year’s Golden Slipper thanks to its substantial prizemoney but also provided trainers Ben, Will, and J D Hayes with a prosperous afternoon. This followed their earlier success in the $400,000 Inglis Banner (1000m) at Flemington with Soldi.
Act Up’s prior fourth-place finish to Soldi in the Debutant Stakes (1000m) last month served as a strong form indicator. “To frank the form line was always good. She was too fast for them down there, and it certainly gave us a bit of confidence saddling up today,” Will Hayes explained. “We were really keen to see him over 1100 metres, and we needed every meterage today.”
Despite commencing from a wide barrier 16, Act Up ($8) was allowed to find its stride by jockey Nash Rawiller. Rawiller expertly navigated a path through the field in the straight, unfurling the colt down the outside to snatch victory from Tim Clark’s mount Silent Intent ($5.50) by a long neck. First-starter Torshavn ($11) finished a notable third, an additional four lengths behind the leading duo.
“I knew I was going to be hard to beat at the 350 metre mark,” Rawiller reported. “He quickened well and came up behind them. Timmy’s (jockey Tim Clark’s) horse showed a fair bit of fight. I thought we had to dig pretty deep over the last 100 metres to go win the race. I think they are two nice horses going forward. There were a lot of inexperienced ones out there but the real clever ones, they just out their hands.”
Will Hayes stated that the decision on whether Act Up would continue racing or be turned out would hinge on the colt’s post-race condition. “We’ll see how he pulls up. There are lots of options, but he’s got $1 million in the bank now, so the autumn will certainly have a few big races on the agenda,” he said. “It was a terrific ride by Nash to go back and through. We were beaten for early speed, we were just hoping for an over-correction, which is what we got. Full credit to the horse, he handled the occasion. And full credit to the team. Our two-year-olds are on fire.”
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