Ingratiating wins G3 Vain Stakes, Hukum dominates Geoffrey Freer Stakes

Another sign that last season’s vintage crop of Godolphin 2YOs is on track to be among this year’s best 3YOs was resoundingly delivered with the success of Ingratiating in Saturday’s G3 Vain Stakes at Caulfield.

A week after the brilliant Paulele carried the blue colours to an impressive success in the new season’s first 3YO Stakes race, Ingratiating stepped out in an event that so often provides a solid guide to the future and had it wrapped up well before he arrived at the line.

Among recent winners of the Vain Stakes, Godolphin’s star sprinter Bivouac in 2019 went on to win the G1 Golden Rose and the G1 Newmarket Handicap as a 3YO and the G1 VRC Sprint Classic at four.

After taking Ingratiating back to last of the seven runners after the jump, jockey Damien Oliver had Ingratiating striding freely coming to the top of the home straight and allowed him to unwind a finishing burst that carried him smoothly past the leaders and on to a one-length win over General Beau.

“They quickened off the bend, but I didn’t have to pick him up, he just did it by himself,” Oliver said.

“That was a very impressive effort. He’s developed really well during his break and can only come on from that.

“There was very little between him and Anamoe as 2YOs, but this colt might be more of a sprinting type. He’s won twice down the straight at Flemington, so that might be where we’ll see him at his best in a G1 sprint.”

Stable representative Sean Keogh said spring plans would be confirmed after a clearer picture of the 3YO team was available.

“The team will get together and work out a program, at the moment we’ll enjoy this,” Keogh said.

Ingratiating had generally been considered second only to stablemate Anamoe among Godolphin’s juveniles in 2020-21, the pair having been placed in both the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes and the G1 Golden Slipper.

Anamoe moved clear with his G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes win that placed him in the top bracket of the country’s youngsters during a season in which Godolphin won 35 juvenile races in Australia.

On the same Caulfield card, Heresy added further 3YO promise with a slashing run into second place in the G3 Quezette Stakes.

From a wide gate in a big field, Heresy showed she had retained all the ability shown last season, finishing a half-length behind Gimme Par.

Shadwell’s Hukum registered second straight victory in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

The Owen Burrows-trained four-year-old looked a cut above the opposition as he pulled clear in the final furlong to defy a 3lb penalty for a Group Three success at York on his latest start, as per the skysports story.

Golden Pass set the pace, but Jim Crowley soon had the 8-11 favourite in second place away from any possible trouble in behind.

It looked an open contest three furlongs from home, although Hukum soon changed that when he hit the front with a quarter of a mile left.

He stretched away to win by three and a quarter lengths from the David Simcock-trained Rodrigo Diaz, who ran a big race with the Melbourne Cup in mind.

Pablo Escobarr was another length and a quarter away in third.

Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold said: “Jim said when he won at Goodwood he made a noise, so we tied his tongue down and since then he’s been really good.

“He’s a scopey horse that is putting it all together, and he has the speed to go shorter.

“He’s in the Lucien Barriere at Deauville in a couple of weeks, but looking ahead we might look towards the Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Hong Kong Vase.”