With a New South Wales country feature race already notched up this autumn, Churchill’s Choice and her renowned strong finish line her up for potential back-to-back successes this Friday in Scone.
Trained by Nathan Doyle, the mare looks to build on her Group 3 Hawkesbury Cup conquest by capturing the $200,000 Listed Scone Cup (1600m), starring on the first day of the carnival spanning two days.
The four-year-old’s slim-margin but striking victory at Hawkesbury on May 2 ended a dry spell since her benchmark 72 win at Randwick in December 2024, delighting her trainer.
Doyle from Newcastle wishes for a longer gap before the Scone Cup compared to Hawkesbury, but the race this coming week offered too strong an appeal in her present form.
“I don’t think she’s a horse that actually lacked too much confidence, it’s just that she was probably too relaxed in the middle stages of her races,” Doyle said.
“When they started to increase the tempo in the race, she just wanted to go through the motions a little bit, but she’s bounced through the run good and I can’t fault her.
“We think she’s quite a fresh horse, so whether the two-week turnaround is a bit quick and she may need a little bit longer time will tell, but we haven’t done much with her in between.”
That Hawkesbury success brought Churchill’s Choice to four career triumphs, the first addition since her opening trio of wins.
By Churchill, the mare ran second in last year’s Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1600m) coinciding with the Hawkesbury weekend, and was also runner-up in the Group 3 Newcastle Stakes (1400m) on her campaign opener.
Regan Bayliss partnered Churchill’s Choice for the debut time in the Hawkesbury Cup, with Doyle hoping for a reunion this weekend.
“I got Regan to have a sit on her at the trials before he rode her in the Hawkesbury Cup and he felt that flat spot she can hit and he got her through that period in Hawkesbury Cup,” he said.
“He got on his bike quite early and I think that was the difference between winning the race or running a nice fourth or fifth, which is what she’d been normally doing.”
The Scone Cup attracted 37 nominations including recent winners Tavi Time and Sky Lab, Cristal Clear from the Group 2 Ajax Stakes, last season’s Queensland Guineas victor Depth Of Character, and Formal Display pursuing four in a row.
Discover competitive racing betting markets ahead of the Scone Cup.