Michael Dee made a triumphant return to Melbourne racing, celebrating a dream double at Flemington that included victory in Saturday’s feature race. The New Zealand-born jockey combined with the Peter Snowden-trained King Of Roseau to secure the $200,000 Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m), Victoria’s first Group race of the season.
The win followed Dee’s earlier success aboard Bold Soul in the day’s second event. It was Dee’s first Melbourne appearance since riding at the Mornington Cup meeting on April 14, after which he completed a two-month riding stint in Japan, where he notched five winners.
“It is a dream return and I’m just hopeful now that it can continue,” said Dee, a 15-time Group 1-winning jockey.
The victory gave King Of Roseau’s trainer Peter Snowden further reason to target Flemington going forward, with the gelding now boasting four wins from 18 starts. It also marked Dee’s third career win in the Aurie’s Star Handicap, following his victories aboard Sooboog in 2015 and It’sourtime in 2023.
Dee had the race well in hand before the finish as the $3.40 chance launched a powerful sprint down the outside to score by 1-1/2 lengths over Bandi’s Boy ($31), who finished a length ahead of Marble Nine ($5.50). The $2.60 favourite, Splash Back, tracked King Of Roseau in the run but could not match his turn of foot, finishing fifth, three lengths from the winner.
Dee predicted that King Of Roseau’s future holds even bigger rewards. “The way he won that, there’s definitely bigger things in store for him. He’d had one look down the straight before in what was a strong form race, he ran well that day, and today he just won so easily and gave me a great feel.”
Snowden echoed that sentiment, saying Flemington would feature prominently in the gelding’s future plans. “Now we know he really likes Flemington, there’s no doubt we’ll be back during the year. Not every horse handles the straight, but he’s got an affinity for it, and that was a dominant win.”
Flemington offers several attractive straight-track feature races leading to the Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) in November, including the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) on Makybe Diva Stakes Day and the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) on Turnbull Stakes Day.