The jockey Thomas Stockdale wants to keep the high of becoming a dad for the first time going by landing a major prize at Flemington.
Partnering Simon Zahra’s Onavuitton in Saturday’s Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m), Stockdale recognizes the difficulty of the three-year-old event, which is known for occasional shocks.
Stockdale, married to Lily (daughter of ex-rider Peter Mertens), had son Ronnie born Sunday, with fatherhood’s energy rush lingering.
“They got home on Tuesday, and I’ve been pretty much running on adrenalin since,” Stockdale said.
Family joys notwithstanding, the priority is Saturday’s ride for Stockdale’s greatest career success to date.
This year he won the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on Unit Five at Gold Coast, though a Group 1 in his newborn’s birth week would top that.
Onavuitton sits at $26 betting against favourites Observer ($2.30), Sixties ($2.90) and Planet Red ($4.80), but past Australian Guineas results feature Lunar Fox ($301, 2021) and Feroce ($14 last year).
Onavuitton’s four outings include third in Flemington’s Group 2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) last March.
He claimed a Cranbourne maiden recently, then placed fourth behind Observer in the Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield February 7.
“We were happy with his run,” Stockdale said.
“He was a month between runs, and they never sat up in the race. They ran along at a good clip the whole way and Observer, he’s a class horse.
“I thought he did a good job to keep rolling along on the hot speed like he did, especially off the gap between runs.
“He would have benefitted off it, and if you take the top three out and it’s a very even race.
“He always puts his best foot forward and his run in the Sires’ at Flemington was good and I think getting back to the bigger track at Flemington is only going to help him, especially stepping up to the mile.
“It’s a race that can throw up a rough result and Simon’s team is flying, they’re getting result after result and I’m confident they will have him in tip-top order on Saturday.”
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