Nash Rawiller is dreaming of Spring Racing Carnival riches after Fiorente confirmed his status as a major player in the Sportingbet Cox Plate and Emirates Melbourne Cup at Moonee Valley, reports Racing Victoria.
The import unleashed a brilliant burst to score a last-stride win in the $300,000 Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) on what was a stellar day for champion Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse. It justified Rawiller’s decision to give up strong book of rides at Rosehill, including a mount in the $1 million Golden Rose, and he thinks even bigger wins could be in store in coming months.
“I’ve given up the Golden Rose today and I think it’s for a good reason,” Rawiller said after the entire’s first Australian win.
“I have got a lot of confidence in this horse, he’s with the right trainer and he’s fit and well going into all these big races.”
Fiorente is now into $8.50 second favouritism for the Emirates Melbourne Cup, in which he ran second last year at his first ride for Waterhouse, and occupies a place on the $12 fourth line in TAB’s Cox Plate market.
While eight Dato winners have gone on to win the Cox Plate since the former settled as a weight-for-age event over 1600m in 1975, no horse has completed the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes-Melbourne Cup double in the same spring.
Fiorente looks well-placed to amend that, while today’s win was also important from the Cox Plate point of view.
The six-year-old jumped better than he did in the Memsie Stakes (1400m), when he was tardy away and settled last, and he settled just worse than midfield, following $2.60 favourite Super Cool.
Rawiller edged Fiorente to the outside when Super Cool came off the bit at the 500m and he was the widest runner at the top of the straight when he had only Seville behind him. But Fiorente unleashed a powerful final 150m to nail Spacecraft in the last stride.
The $3.20 second favourite scored by a head from Spacecraff ($51) with Lidari ($9.50) sneaking home along the fence for third, just a short head back.
After hitting a flat spot for 150m, Super Cool got going again in the straight to finish fourth, beaten just half a length, with Bass Strait (fifth) an eye-catching fifth after not getting much room late.
“I was confident a long way from home,” Rawiller said. “I was following Super Cool and I could tell I had him beat a long way from home and we we’re giving them a bit of a start but I was able to keep him balanced and coming into the race under the horse’s terms.
“I just took a kinder approach to it today and he seemed to thrive on it.”
The race was run without defending champion Happy Trails, who was a late scratching by order of stewards after a puncture mark was detected on his neck during the day.
Fiorente’s win was the middle pin of a winning treble for Waterhouse, who won an earlier race with Victoria derby prospect Divine Calling.
The Great Snowman completed Waterhouse’s hat-trick with his tough win in the race following the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes.