Sniper’s Bullet has made amends for his close second place last year to Gilded Venom by blitzing his rivals in Saturday’s $1million Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot in Perth.
The gelding, ridden by Nash Rawiller, made a dashing return to winning form in his first victory since taking out the $1million Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm back in 2007.
Sniper’s Bullet defeated the fast-finishing Tarzi by a length with another local runner, Colour Correct, coming in third. It was an impressive victory for the six-year-old, trained by former jockey Tracey Bartley, as he showed sensational speed after starting wide from barrier 14. Running aggressively from the start, Sniper’s Bullet with Rawiller displayed bolder tactics than last year, taking off at the 600m with a steady burst of acceleration that saw them secure victory.
Saturday’s win in Western Australia’s richest race took Sniper’s Bullet’s total career winnings to over $2million and he became the first interstate horse to win the Railway Stakes since Slavonic in 1999.
It was a disappointing finish for the odds-on favourite Gold Salute and his jockey Damien Oliver, the duo only beating two other entrants to place 14th. The Mark Riley-trained runner played up when being lead into the gates and then lost a shoe off his right front foot that ripped off a section of his hoof. It was Oliver’s tenth unsuccessful ride in the Railway.
The spring’s most successful jockey, Corey Brown failed to fire with second favourite on Saturday All American. Brown, who rode the Melbourne Cup, Victoria Derby and Emirates Stakes champions this year only managed to finish 11th aboard the Emirates Stakes winner.
2009 Railway Stakes Final Finishing Order:
Placing |
Horse |
Jockey |
| 1st | SNIPER’S BULLET |
Nash Rawiller |
| 2nd | TARZI |
Paul Harvey |
| 3rd | COLOUR CORRECT |
Lucas Camilleri |
| 4th | GRAND NIRVANA |
Daniel Staeck |
| 5th | LORDS RANSOM |
Alan Kennedy |
| 6th | ORTENSIA |
Craig Williams |
| 7th | ELLIOTTO |
Steven Parnham |
| 8th | FAMOUS ROMAN |
Jason Whiting |
| 9th | OROYA GOLD |
Troy Turner |
| 10th | SPIRITED ONE |
Peter Knuckey |
| 11th | ALL AMERICAN |
Corey Brown |
| 12th | LARGO LAD |
Glen Boss |
| 13th | MEGATIC |
Patrick Carbery |
| 14th | GOLD SALUTE |
Damien Oliver |
| 15th | LAMBTON CASTLE |
Shaun McGruddy |
| 16th | KEYTOMONEY |
William Pike |
Scratched:
COCONUT GROVE
KASABIAN
