In the blowout result of ‘The Championships’, Ben Smith’s $81 roughie hope El Dorado Dreaming beat the favourite Oohood to the line in a photo finish in the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes 2018 at Royal Randwick.
El Dorado Dreaming scored a huge upset in the 2018 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes breaking her maiden status in the Randwick Group 1. Photo: Steve Hart.
Punters have to go back to Victory Prince (80/1) in 1984 to find the last winner of the autumn classic to salute at the price, but today it was all about Smith’s Ilovethiscity filly from Newcastle.
Having her black-type debut in the Group 1 $1 million Inglis Sires’ (1400m), the untapped bay was on the quick back-up having run second in a maiden at her home track last weekend.
Smith was confident El Dorado Dreaming would run well against the season’s top juveniles at Randwick, but did not expect her to have the class to defeat Tony McEvoy’s Golden Slipper second placed filly Oohood.
“We thought she’d run well. Her last couple of starts she’s been up on the pace…we just wanted her ridden quiet,” Smith said after the shock Inglis Sires’ result.
“I didn’t expect her to win but I expected her to run well.
“A seven day back-up, she’s still a bit big…the way she does her track work is nice and relaxed.
“For her to be ridden quiet and attack the line it was really good to see.
“Horses like this make it a lot easier to get out of bed that’s for sure.”
Now a three-time Group 1 placegetter having also run third in Melbourne’s Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes earlier this season, Oohood remains a maiden after six starts amassing close to a million in prize money.
“She burst through like she had the race won, but then just seemed to pull up,” Oohood’s jockey Zac Purton said post-race.
She looked like she would salute for the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes punters getting the run along the rails late, but her hopes of a breakout win were ruined by the Damian Lane-ridden El Dorado Dreaming who came right down the outside and stole the show.
“I thought i got beat and I was filthy with myself but we got there and obviously she has a bucket load of talent,” Lane said post-win.
“I went back from the wide draw seeing most of the field I think I was second last and as we turned for home I thought ‘this horse is travelling’.
“I thought I may have waited a bit to long on one earlier in the day so i just went for home and I thought I had done the opposite and thought I got done, what a thrill.”
In third rounding out a very lucrative ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes trifecta in third was the Team Hawkes-trained Outrageous ($51), the All Too Hard colt improving on a lead-up 10th in Flemington’s Group 2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) from early March.
“He ran terrific, didn’t get a lot of luck, he finishes right there if he gets any,” jockey Brenton Avdulla said of third placegetter Outrageous.
El Dorado Dreaming became the fifth filly since 2010 to beat home the boys in the autumn classic.
She is nominated for another possible quick back-up into Saturday week’s Group 2 $600,000 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m), firming in from triple figures to $15 to drop down in distance for the lucrative sprint.
Smith however is more likely to step El Dorado Dreaming up to a mile the weekend after on April 21 for a grand final run in the Group 1 $500,000 Champagne Stakes (1600m).
The Mission (2017) improved on a lead-up sixth in the Sires’ to win last year’s Champagne Stakes, while the double was last completed by the filly Guelph (2013).
To back El Dorado Dreaming next race at the right price head to Ladbrokes.com.au today.
2018 Inglis’ Sires Results & Finishing Order
Randwick Race 6 – 07/04/2018
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | EL DORADO DREAMING | Benjamin Smith | Damian Lane | – | 12 | 54.5kg | $81 |
| 2 | 13 | OOHOOD | Tony McEvoy | Zac Purton | 0.1L | 8 | 54.5kg | $3.20F |
| 3 | 8 | OUTRAGEOUS | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Brenton Avdulla | 1.1L | 10 | 56.5kg | $61 |
| 4 | 2 | LONG LEAF | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Kerrin McEvoy | 1.4L | 2 | 56.5kg | $10 |
| 5 | 4 | SPIN | Peter & Paul Snowden | Tim Clark | 1.7L | 7 | 56.5kg | $19 |
| 6 | 1 | ENCRYPTION | James Cummings | Glyn Schofield | 1.8L | 13 | 56.5kg | $21 |
| 7 | 5 | BONDI | Peter & Paul Snowden | Mark Zahra | 1.9L | 14 | 56.5kg | $9 |
| 8 | 9 | RAGGED RASCAL | Paul Perry | Joshua Parr | 2.9L | 6 | 56.5kg | $101 |
| 9 | 14 | SEABROOK (NZ) | Mick Price | Damien Oliver | 3L | 1 | 54.5kg | $5 |
| 10 | 3 | NOT A SINGLE CENT | Ciaron Maher | Blake Shinn | 3.1L | 15 | 56.5kg | $16 |
| 11 | 6 | SEBERATE | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Jason Collett | 3.4L | 3 | 56.5kg | $20 |
| 12 | 7 | TCHAIKOVSKY | Peter & Paul Snowden | Sam Clipperton | 5.3L | 5 | 56.5kg | $6.50 |
| 13 | 10 | RINGERDINGDING | Edward O’Rourke | Ben Melham | 6L | 9 | 56.5kg | $51 |
| 14 | 11 | ADANA | Chris Waller | Michael Walker | 6.9L | 4 | 56.5kg | $31 |
| 15 | 12 | AFFOGATO | Wendy Roche | Craig Newitt | 7.1L | 11 | 56.5kg | $301 |
