A look at the Anzac Day action

Silvasista to the fore in VRC St Leger

Lexus Melbourne Cup winning trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy have added another feature staying race to their credit at Flemington. 

Following Half Yours win in the Lexus Melbourne Cup last November, Silvasista provided the father-and-son training combination with their first win in the Listed VRC St Leger (2800m). 

Now the McEvoy’s are looking towards a Stakes race in Adelaide with the option of the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) to be run at Morphettville next Saturday with the Group 3 SA Fillies Classic (2500m) at the same track the following week a more likely assignment.

“She’s a lovely filly but we weren’t sure whether she would stay on her pedigree being by Toronado,” Calvin McEvoy said.

“She put up a great run behind Salty Pearl over a mile (at Caulfield) and then went to Adelaide and disappointed us.

"We brought her back and brought her back in class and she won over 2200 metres at Donald and sort of looked near the end of it, but we wanted to test her here over the distance with a look to the 2500-metre fillies race in a couple of weeks.

“The way she won, it was a beautiful ride from Luke, and it could not have worked out any better.” 

Blind Raise Brisbane bound

Blind Raise will head to Brisbane for the winter after remaining unbeaten in taking out the Listed ANZAC Day Stakes (1400m).

It was the second win for the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young stable in the ANZAC Day Stakes in the past three years.

Whereas they spelled their 2024 winner Epimeles with a spring campaign in mind, Blind Raise will continue to race on into his two-year-old season.

Busuttin said the Group 2 BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm next month and the Group 1 J J Atkins (1600m) in June were on the agenda for Blind Raise.

“Plenty of things can go wrong between now and when they turn three and that’s why we want to go to Brisbane,” Busuttin said.

“When Epimeles won this race, we said we’d spell and go for the spring, but things haven’t stopped going wrong with him ever since.

“For this bloke, there’s two one-million-dollar races up in Queenslandand I might even get a trip up there.”

Blind Raise is unbeaten in two races having scored on debut at Sandown earlier in April. 

Aptly named The Western Front wins ANZAC Day opener

Lindsay Park trainers Ben, Will and J D Hayes have some thinking to do whether they push on to the Melbourne Cup qualifier, the Listed Lexus Andrew Ramsden (2800m) next month.

The Western Front registered his third win from his past four starts in taking out the TAB We’re On (2500m).

Ben Hayes said the key with The Western Front had been getting him to relax.

“He’s a real thinker,” Hayes said.

“When he hit the front, I thought he was going to have a think, but he was strong through the line and that is exactly what we wanted to see.

“Since the earmuffs going on, he’s been doing things right.

“He was the omen bet of the day – ANZAC Day, The Western Front.”

With the Andrew Ramsden three weeks away at Flemington and with the winner earning a ballot exemption into Australia’s great race, Hayes said it was something the team would discuss.

“It is something I will have to talk to my brothers about, but he’s a fit and an in-form stayer and it would be a nice race to go for,” Hayes said.

“It would be fun qualifying him for the Melbourne Cup.” 

Double up for Littlefield

Charlotte Littlefield picked a good day to land her first city double with Concord Connie and My Swinger.

Concord Connie showed a blistering turn of foot to win The Les Carlyon (1400m) before Big Swinger took out the Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Inc. Trophy (1400m).

“That’s pretty special,” Littlefield said after collecting the second of her two winners.

“It’s starting to sink in a little bit as you work relentless hours, day and night, 24/7, and to get results like that is absolutely phenomenal.

“I knew we had three horses coming here in really good order, but racing is so tough and to do it on the big stage is so good.”

Littlefield, who also dabbles as a media presenter on racing.com, was left speechless after the win of Concord Connie.

“She’s an absolute beauty, this girl,” Littlefield said.

“I’m so excited to have a horse like her in the stable.

“We wanted to see if she could come to this level in town and now, I’ll have to sit down and look at the program, but that’s not my forte, but I’m going to make that my forte moving forward.”

Littlefield said that while she was concerned with the track being upgraded to a Good 3 early in the day, she knew the track would still have plenty of juice in it for Big Swinger.

“We haven’t overtaxed him and we have really given him the time between runs, and we knew we had a horse that was really peaking for a run today,” Littlefield said.

“I was really excited to see him at the 1400 metres today and Jett (Stanley) executed it well.”

Concord Connie flies down the outside in Race 2

Big Swinger takes out the Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Inc. Trophy

Capper Thirtynine flies high in final event

Sometimes in racing the stars align and they could not have lined up better for Capper Thirtynine in the William Newton VC Handicap (1400m).

The Nick Ryan-trained galloper registered his first win in around 15 months, but the trainer said there was a couple of factors in the gelding's favour on Saturday.

“He loves Flemington, Capper,” Ryan said.

“He’d had three starts at the 1400 metres at Flemington for two seconds before today, one behind Enxuto and the other behind Is It Me.

“With the two-kilo claim, he was down to 55 (kg) and dropping from 62 (kg) from his last start and up in trip (to 1400m).

“I was pretty keen as he had tightened up and his work was pretty good last Tuesday.”

While Ryan praised Luke Cartwright for his winning ride, the trainer’s thoughts swung to injured jockey Rhys McLeod who had ridden the gelding at his previous two starts.

McLeod suffered a pelvic injury in a fall at Pakenham on Thursday night.

“My thoughts are with him,” Ryan said.

“Hopefully he has a speedy recovery, and he will have the full support from me when he does come back.”