Helmet wins the Group 1 Inglis Sires Produce Stakes at Randwick today
This season’s most successful trainer of juveniles, Peter Snowden took out the second leg of the 2YO Triple Crown today with promising colt Helmet winning the $500,000 Group 1 Inglis Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) in sensational style.
Just seven days after winning the world’s richest race for two-year-olds the Golden Slipper with Sepoy, Snowden and Darley celebrated another Group 1 victory today thanks to a terrific run by Exceed And Excel colt Helmet.
Getting away well from barrier seven with in-form hoop Kerrin McEvoy in the saddle, Helmet settled just off the back of the early leaders.
Kris Lee’s Uate hit the front to start and set a fairly slow pace while Bart Cumming’s race favourite Do You Think and the Chris Waller-trained Fast And Sexy settled two-three in the opening stages.
On the straight Uate lost the lead when McEvoy bought Helmet up on the outside.
Helmet hung on to score a tidy victory over Uate, a promising youngster who ran second today at big odds, while the John Thompson-trained Pane In The Glass had a big race getting up on the outside for third.
Race favourite Do You Think failed to finish off and just didn’t look up to Group 1 level as yet.
Going up to the 1400m was always going to suite Helmet, the magnificent looking colt likely to run well up to a mile.
Helmet has now had four starts for three wins and a third, today’s prize money boosting their total earnings to over $430,000.
“That’s satisfying today, that’s a huge effort,” Peter Snowden said of Helmet’s win.
“He presented well, he behaved himself really well and Kerrin (McEvoy) rode him well.
The next start for Helmet will be in the $400,000 Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick’s Sydney Cup Day, Saturday April 23.
“I think the champagne is there for sure,” said Snowden.
Seeing how he runs over the 1600m in the Champagne will let connections know whether they have a genuine Caulfield Guineas horse on their hands in Helmet.
“He’s a nice horse that’s going to go further and he will stay further,” jockey Kerrin McEvoy said.
2011 Inglis Sires Produce Stakes Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | HELMET | Peter Snowden | Kerrin McEvoy | – | 6 | 56.5kg | $4.60 |
| 2 | 3 | UATE | Kris Lees | Nash Rawiller | 0.5L | 2 | 56.5kg | $14 |
| 3 | 9 | PANE IN THE GLASS | John P Thompson | Jim Byrne | 1L | 11 | 54.5kg | $17 |
| 4 | 10 | SHARED REFLECTIONS | Gai Waterhouse | Damien Oliver | 1.3L | 10 | 54.5kg | $9.50 |
| 5 | 12 | DISPUTES | Peter Snowden | Joshua Parr | 1.4L | 9 | 54.5kg | $21 |
| 6 | 11 | FAST AND SEXY | Chris Waller | Glyn Schofield | 1.8L | 1 | 54.5kg | $21 |
| 7 | 8 | ELITE FALLS | John O’Shea | Jim Cassidy | 1.9L | 4 | 54.5kg | $3.30F |
| 8 | 4 | DO YOU THINK | Bart Cummings | Hugh Bowman | 2L | 7 | 56.5kg | $4.40 |
| 9 | 7 | KING’S PACT | David Payne | Corey Brown | 2.2L | 8 | 56.5kg | $101 |
| 10 | 5 | BOYS ON TOUR | John P Thompson | Craig Williams | 3.3L | 5 | 56.5kg | $61 |
| 11 | 6 | EXCEED AND EXALT | Guy Walter | Nathan Berry (a0) | 4.3L | 3 | 56.5kg | $20 |
| SCR | 1 | SMART MISSILE | Anthony Cummings | Glen Boss | – | 0 | – | – |
