Sam Clipperton secured his most significant victory since his return to racing, piloting Juja Kibo to win the Group 2 Metropolitan at Randwick.
The jockey had retired from the sport just over a year after his 2023 Everest success on Think About It, but made the decision to resume riding late last year.
Despite The Metropolitan (2400m) now being a Group 2 race, Clipperton expressed his delight at winning a major Sydney spring feature.
“That’s all right. Pretty sure the prizemoney is the same,” Clipperton quipped.
“All that aside, I’m delighted to get this horse home.
“I’ve been riding him throughout the ‘prep’. He has been building for a big performance. Lovely to be able to stay on these horses on these big days and get the job done.”
Juja Kibo, who had not won for over a year, had previously finished third in the same race last year and recorded several stakes placings in the interim.
Jo Gerard-Dubord, assistant to trainer Ciaron Maher, confirmed that the Randwick feature had been a long-term target, and confidence was high after the six-year-old’s second-place finish in the Kingston Town Quality (2000m) two weeks prior.
“It has been the plan all along to get him here third-up and try to have him peaking. After his last run two weeks ago we thought we were right on track,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“He still had plenty of improvement to come. He was very wintery that day and since then, he has really blossomed. He looks ten times better and that extra run under his belt, a bit of give in the track, was just ideal for him today. We had a good barrier and perfect ride from Sam.”
Gerard-Dubord indicated that Juja Kibo’s win had effectively earned him a place in the spring carnival, with the Melbourne Cup now a likely target.
“On the back of that, you have to look at Victoria. The St Leger is up here but Victoria is very enticing,” he said.
“We’d love to see where he fits in. If he was going to run in the Melbourne Cup, whether you have to go through Caulfield (Cup) or not we’ll have to see, but we’ll definitely have a look at that.
“The Melbourne Cup is probably the one we want to get to. We’ll see how he pulls up first and see the best way to get there.”
Juja Kibo ($5.50) settled just behind the leaders and made his winning run in the straight, crossing the line 1-1/2 lengths ahead of Aethelwulf ($2.80 favourite), with The Euphrates ($4.20) completing the trifecta another two lengths back.
Aethelwulf’s jockey, Zac Lloyd, felt the race pace did not suit his mount.
“They didn’t go quickly today. It was a sit and sprint,” Lloyd said.
“That suited the winner more than us. He has gone well again.”
Find the best racing betting markets for the upcoming major races.