BELINDA and Luke McCarthy added a second Gold Crown to their trophy collection as did leading owners Emilio and Mary Rosati after Astride won Saturday night’s Alabar Gold Crown. The couples had previously enjoyed success in 2013 when Allblack Stride won the Gold Crown on the old Bathurst track and reinsman Luke McCarthy was happy to get a big race win on the new Bathurst circuit.
“The new Bathurst track is the best 1000 metre track in Australia and it was great to win the Gold Crown with Astride,” McCarthy said.
“When Allblack Stride won the Gold Crown he was the dominant horse going into the series and there was some expectation going into it whereas this year it was different as there wasn’t a lot between the good ones in the lead up to the series.”
Astride was the fastest heat winner and worked his way to the front in the final with a lap to go.
“I didn’t want to push him too hard in the early stages and he was pretty comfortable racing outside the leader but once the three wide horses started to put the pressure on it forced me to take the lead. Once he relaxed in front he was always going to be very hard to run down.
“He wasn’t forced to run the third quarter too hard so he had a good kick in the last 400 metres and I was pretty confident he would be able to hold on.”
In his acceptance speech during the presentation, Emilio Rosati praised his entire team and thanked those that did the early work with the colt.
“I bred Astride and there are a number of people who make sure the horses get to Belinda and Luke’s in perfect condition and I want to thank all of them, I am very proud,” Rosati said.
“The Bathurst Gold Crown carnival gets better and better every year and I think with a further injection of prizemoney it can become like the Little Brown Jug in America, it is a great carnival to be a part of and I’ll be back again next year to try and win it again.”
Astride proved too strong for the Amanda Turnbull trained Wardan Express with John McCarthy’s Bettor Be Gold in third. The win for Belinda and Luke McCarthy was even more special as the entire McCarthy family had been named the Gold Crown Carnival Honourees for 2016.
“For our family to be named the honourees this year and to win the Gold Crown makes the victory even more special. I grew up in Bathurst and I enjoy coming back to compete here in front of a lot of family and friends,” McCarthy added.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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