Photo: Grant Peters
Promising New Zealand-bred stayer Campaldino (Ghibellines) passed his biggest test with flying colours at Eagle Farm on Saturday, stepping up to stakes company and adding the A$200,000 Gr.3 Living Turf Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) to his winning sequence.
The lightly raced four-year-old gelding headed to Brisbane as the winner of his last two starts, having taken out the Orange Cup (2100m) on April 11 and a Benchmark 78 over 2400m on Randwick’s Kensington track two weeks later. Those performances made enough of an impression for Campaldino to start as a respected $7.50 chance against a much higher grade of opposition on Saturday, and he rose to the occasion in style.
Ridden by Tim Clark for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Campaldino drew gate 14 in a 16-horse field but was able to move across the front of the field and take up a position in second behind the front-running Dark Destroyer.
Coming up to the home turn, Campaldino was clearly travelling as well as anyone in the deteriorating Heavy8 conditions, and he surged into the lead at the top of the straight.
Etna Rosso and Nikau Spur emerged from the pack to try to run him down, but Campaldino had plenty in reserve and held them at bay by a length and three-quarters.
“He made a really big leap there, coming from midweeks,” Clark said. “The horse has been going so well that we were confident he would take that step.
“He’s just been a different horse since Gai and Adrian took the blinkers off him. He was wanting to overdo it. With the blinkers off, he relaxes really well. He conserves his energy and it was a really dominant performance there. He’s versatile and a lightly raced horse on the rise.”
Waterhouse and Bott are now likely to give Campaldino a shot at the Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) on June 14.
“I think we’ll have to,” Bott said. “I think he’s got the ability to stay further. We want to take advantage while he’s in this form. I think there is more upside, so why not look at it?
“Nice effort from the horse today. He relished the conditions. He had good New Zealand form, particularly in those rain-affected conditions.
“He’s been a progressive horse and he is starting to put it all together now. There’s more upside there and he is racing with a bit of confidence.
“We came up here with a bit of confidence, the way he’d been working since his last run and the way he’s been all preparation.
“He still had a sticky draw there, but when Tim was able to get him outside of the leader, he did relatively little work and we were able to control the race from that point. I was pretty confident through the run and he looked to travel pretty well.”
From 13 starts, Campaldino has now recorded five wins and four placings. He has banked more than A$268,000 for a Darby Racing syndicate.
Campaldino was bred by the Ricky & Anna Rhodes Partnership and is by White Robe Lodge stallion Ghibellines out of the Shocking mare Zuzana.
Campaldino began his career in the Matamata stable of Cody Cole, for whom he had four starts last year. He finished seventh and eighth in his first two appearances, then put together back-to-back wins in a 1750m highweight at Taupo and a 2200m Rating 65 at Pukekohe. He caught the eye of Rob Waterhouse and was purchased privately.
From nine starts in Australia, Campaldino has now recorded three wins, three seconds, a third, and two fifths
