Photo: Grant Peters
The Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) looms as a possible spring target for New Zealand-bred stayer Campaldino (Ghibellines), who continued his rapid rise with another outstanding win in the A$400,000 Gr.2 XXXX Brisbane Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Within the space of nine weeks, the Ghibellines gelding has strung together four increasingly impressive victories. He kicked off with wins in the Orange Cup (2100m) and a Benchmark 78 handicap on Randwick’s Kensington track, prompting trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott to take him to Brisbane and raise the bar to black-type level.
Campaldino passed his first major test with a dominant performance in last month’s Gr.3 Premier’s Cup (2400m) on a rapidly deteriorating heavy track. Saturday’s Brisbane Cup marked a step up in class and distance, along with a switch to Good3 ground, but there was no difference to the result.
Jockey Tim Clark gave Campaldino a comfortable run, initially sitting outside the front-running True Marvel before easing back into fourth with a lap to go. He was travelling smoothly every step of the way.
Clark allowed him to creep forward from the 700m mark, moving up alongside True Marvel just before the home turn.
Campaldino took command coming into the straight, powering into a clear lead with 300m to run. Etna Rosso tried his hardest to eat into the margin, but Campaldino kept going strongly all the way to the finish line and won by a length and a quarter.
“Since the blinkers have been removed, he has been much better,” Clark said. “That has helped him be so strong at the end of his races.
“He’s a pleasure to ride and another good find out of New Zealand. He has come here and really found his mojo now.
“He’s shooting through the grades nicely. He’s thrived with the sun on his back and he can run a strong two miles. When he had clean air, he really dragged me forward. He had energy stored in the run and he picked up when I let him go.”
Waterhouse and Bott are now keen to push on to Melbourne in the spring.
“I think we’ll have to go for the Melbourne Cup,” Bott said. “He’s an amazing, progressive horse. He’s come a long way and that tops off the campaign nicely.
“He can't have too long off, but he’s had some nice conditioning this preparation and we’ll try and work backwards from the Melbourne Cup.
“He’s still learning what it is all about. Even when he hit the front today, I was worried about him getting there too early. There is still progression to come. He had a bit of a wander around when he got to the rail, but when he was challenged, I thought he responded nicely in the end.
“He’s lightly raced for a stayer and it will be exciting to see what he can do in a few campaigns ahead.”
From 14 starts, Campaldino has now recorded six wins and four placings. He has banked more than A$500,000 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. His performances caught the eye of Rob Waterhouse, and he was purchased privately.
From 10 starts in Australia, Campaldino has now recorded four wins, three seconds, a third, and two fifths.
