A wave of relief washed over Tom Charlton as King Pedro, overcoming a string of frustratingly narrow defeats, delivered a dominant performance to claim the Stayers Cup at Rosehill.
Since his last triumph at Gosford in November, the lightly raced gelding had recorded four second placings in his five subsequent starts. Charlton admitted to feeling considerable anxiety about his charge, the $2 favourite with leading betting sites, delivering on Saturday.
“I’m a bit nervous because I feel like the horse has been quite unfortunate for a lot of this preparation,” Charlton disclosed. “I’m relieved for the owners and staff and horse that he has managed to get the job done.”
He further elaborated on the horse’s potential: “He’s a really nice stayer. He will definitely make a better grade, and a good grade, in time. He is effective on all ground, effective at 2000 to 2400 (metres), and he could be effective over even further in time.”
King Pedro, a four-year-old, is sired by Eminent, a New Zealand-based stallion by Frankel who remains relatively obscure in Australia. The stable had identified him as a promising stayer after his sixth-place finish from a wide draw in the 2025 New Zealand Derby (2400m), and Charlton was hopeful of his return to competitive racing at a higher level.
The immediate focus is likely the Grafton Cup (2350m) next month, with consideration also given to races such as The Metropolitan (2400m) in the future.
“Those are the sort of races, maybe a Sydney Cup some day,” Charlton considered. “Whether it comes too soon, but we do feel he could make it into a race like that. He is still quite an unfurnished horse so there is plenty more to come.”
Charlton explained the rationale behind the gelding’s race choices: “We toyed with the idea of going to Caloundra (Cup) next weekend, but we thought the option of an easier race to try to win, and then potentially go to something nicer was probably more suitable.”
Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, King Pedro ($2 favourite) powered to a convincing three-length victory over Pinhole ($6), with outsider Masoun ($101) securing third place by a short neck.
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