Race Result:

1st: Anamoe (J Cummings/J McDonald) - $1.80F
2nd: Fangirl (C Waller/K McEvoy) - $9
3rd: Converge (G Waterhouse & A Bott/T Clark) - $41

Winning Time: 1:29.45 Last 600m: 33.92

Margins: Long Neck x Nose

"IT'S ANAMOE'S GEORGE RYDER!"

The champion did it tough today to win his 9th Group 1!@mcacajamez @JamesCummings88 @godolphin pic.twitter.com/8mRiwNLngJ

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 18, 2023

 

Winning Trainer: James Cummings

On the tough run and what's next: "It was looking like he was going to force us to be wide throughout, but at least he was going to be wide and out of trouble and James (McDonald) was ultimately very calm about that, which is the way he needed to be."

"But on a hot day like today, to get through this and to go undefeated this preparation in the lead up to the Queen Elizabeth is ideal. He's had that tough run now at the 1500m, which is a race we deliberately kept him a little bit sharper for. But now he can step up to a mile and a quarter and look great in three weeks when we step him up in distance."

On meeting Dubai Honour in the Queen Elizabeth: "It could be an entirely different scenario in three weeks time too, it could be an entirely different sort of day. Maybe very different track conditions. But this horse Anamoe, he's never disappointed me once when we step him up in distance. He's always run a blinder and I'd expect a similar thing from him in three weeks. But that's (today's race) a time honoured race packed full of quality opposition and for him to sit three and four wide throughout and still come away and be strongest on the line is a great credit to Anamoe. It's another fantastic mile Group 1 that is added to his glittering resume already. He's a beautiful stallion this horse."

Winning Jockey: James McDonald

On the tough three-wide no cover run: "It worked out well the first two furlongs, I had a nice little bit of cover but it disappeared. Went over numerous replays of this sort of race and I thought he was good enough to do it if he had to overcome adversity. I think he did an extremely good job, albeit the margin was small. He had to do it a different way this time instead of last time. I love the plan of James (Cummings) taking him to this race with a view of 2000m next time will be spot on."

"I would've loved a better trip in transit. But I wanted to ride him like the good horse that he is and not get far back because the only way I thought he would get beat was coming too late. He traveled deep throughout, the track has probably helped us on the softer side and they have been coming down the middle."

"It was a different sort of win wasn't it? He didn't have the perfect barrier, he didn't have the perfect set-up. He had to overcome a wide run, but he's good enough to do it and he's taken that next step all the time."

On what makes him so good: "His demeanor, he just knows he's pretty cool. When you ride him he just fills you with that much confidence. Even if you are in a sticky position you feel like you're always going to overcome things. No comparison to Winx, but with Hughie (Bowman) riding Winx four times in this race sat three-deep the whole entire trip. That gave me a little bit of confidence as well because he is a very good horse and obviously he is a crowd puller as well."

On the crowd adulation: "He gets a real cult following because he's a big sexy thing and he knows it too. We cherish every ride we get on him from now on because I think counting down, there's only a couple left. I love the reception he gets because he deserves it."

Beaten Jockeys:

Mark Zahra (Artorius): "Super again. Just let flat-footed at the top of the straight but his last 100m was great."

Brenton Avdulla (Kirwan's Lane): "I think he is racing as good as he can go. When he steps back to a handicap conditions, down in weight for his target race in two weeks. He'll be sweet."

Tim Clark (Converge): "Really good run from him. He showed he has come back a lot better horse this time."

Chad Schofield (Lion's Roar): "Thought it was a good first up run behind the best horse in the land."

Kerrin McEvoy (Fangirl): "Great run by her. If we just had more room to slide into the race to the 500m, she would be closer again. Right on target for the Doncaster."

Michael Dee (Levante): "Massive effort. I thought we were going to pick them up on the corner. Probably a career best effort. Any rain would help."

Jye McNeil (Electric Girl): "She had some cheap sectionals but didn't have the answers when the pressure went on. Thought she was honest."

Hugh Bowman (Golden Mile): "We didn't get away too well so we had to ride him alternatively to how we hoped. Was a little keen in the run and it took its toll late."

Damian Lane (Communist): "I thought he ran great. He presented well but got outsprinted a touch but was really good to the line."

Nash Rawiller (Osipenko): "He went fantastic. Off the setback and taking on the big boys."