Sir Delius was super impressive in victory, beating a number of proven stars. Here is what the beaten riders had to say:
Blake Shinn (Antino): “Super proud of him. Had the back of the winner early and then Craig had a bit of luck getting to one-off. From the 1400 (metre mark) I was left exposed but the pace came out at that point of the race and Antino likes to have a bit of room. He blended into the turn super and got run down by a star. Great run.”
Jye McNeil (Land Legend): “He’s probably just looking for the 2400 now.”
James McDonald (Via Sistina): “I think she’s going well. That tough run will harden her up a bit for the Cox Plate.”
Ben Melham (Moira): “Wasn’t a bad run. Had to get a long way back from the draw. She came to the outside and she seemed to appreciate a bit of room and a bit of give in the ground. I thought she was steady to the line. That will tighten her fitness up and she’s ready to run well over 2400.”
Jamie Melham (Half Yours): “Extremely excited for two weeks’ time with this horse. He’s flying.”
Damian Lane (Aeliana): “She ran honest. Just lacked a bit of change up speed. When I got clear she travelled through her turn-of-foot and she was charging late.”
Billy Egan (Young Werther): “He round the race out ok. I think he is looking for 2400 (metres) now so a good run.”
Michael Dee (Adelaide River): “Super effort. He loved it out in front and towards the line just got tightened up and potentially cost us running fourth.”
Jordan Childs (Golden Path): “He ran as well as he could. He ended up having a nice run and got on the back of Antino. Just struggled when they quickened up and he couldn’t.”
Mark Zahra (Middle Earth): <No comment provided>
Daniel Stackhouse (Deakin): “I thought he was fantastic. Had to use him from his barrier. He travelled strong and put himself in the race and held his ground nicely. He’s going well for the Caulfield Cup.”
Harry Coffey (Zardozi): “She was fairly dour today so she might be looking for more ground. Also probably wasn’t 100% on the firming surface. She was going ok without flying, but at 2400 you’ll see a better horse.”
Beau Mertens (River Of Stars): “I thought she ran well. She’s not a horse that has a lot of change-up speed. We were just pocketed in there and we couldn’t build when we wanted to but I thought she maintained a nice gallop to the line.”
