Smart colt Doubtland made it two wins from two starts with a runaway win in the Group 3 $200,000 Widden Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) on Day One of The Championships at Randwick today.
Doubtland, above, scores a runaway win in the 2020 Kindergrten Stakes at Randwuick. Photo by Steve Hart.
Co-trainer Michael Hawkes will now map out a Spring Carnival program for Doubtland ($5) who trounced his rivals with a four lengths win against the other two year olds.
“It’s more of a Spring plan with this bloke, it always has been to be fair,” Michael Hawkes said.
“We just spaced his runs, we kept him fresh and as you saw today he was just explosive.”
The James Cummings trained $26 outsider Jerle ran on from the back to claim second spot with Kiwi colt Not An Option ($7) also making up plenty of ground from last to finish third just ahead of the $3.30 equal favourite Rulership.
The other equal favourite, Damaged, raced in a forward position but faded in the straight to finish at the tail of the seven horse Kindergarten Stakes field.
Winning jockey Brenton Avdulla settled the John, Wayne and Michael Hawkes trained Doubtland near the tail of the field in the early and middle stages and when he released the brakes at the top of the rise, the result was never in doubt.
“It was a lovely, nice win. We just get these colts right at the right time and Brenton didn’t really panic, he just half had to wait and the option was either go on the fence or peel him out,” Michael Hawkes said.
“When he got out wide he had a lap full of horse and it was all over.”
“We kept him up. He’d done his job as a two-year-old winning his first start, this was just a lovely, lovely win and he’s just going to be a force to be reckoned with as a three-year-old.
“That’s why we kept him back and we didn’t really want to rush him into the bigger races such as the Sires.
“He’s a Group winner now, he’s worth a lot of money. He can go and have a break and he’ll come back as a lovely, lovely three-year-old.”
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