Royal Esprit, Casabel, Esprit de Roses 20/12/08

BEL'S THREE STATE SECONDS

It was to prove to be a day of ‘seconds’, but Bel Esprit certainly made his presence felt in three states on Saturday (20 December).

Royal Esprit, trained by the Hawkes’ triumvirate – John, Wayne & Michael, put in a power performance at Rosehill to grab the runner up cheque in the Razor Sharp Handicap-LR, while Cascabel (Flemington) and Esprit de Roses (Morphettville) also beat home all but the winner.

Royal Esprit has clearly been one of Bel Esprit’s finest performers north of the Murray, having taking out five of his 15 tasks, along with four placings.

A fourth on debut in the Breeders’ Plate-LR, Royal Esprit has had all but three of his starts in town and was clearly on a roll during his previous campaign, winning at Kembla and Canterbury before running third at Rosehill and then finishing off with victories at Canterbury and Rosehill.

Racing first up at Rosehill on 5 December (beaten a half length) he was sent out favourite in the Razor Sharp. He just seems to keep getting better this horse and, hailing from Bel Esprit’s first crop, is indicative of the progeny’s propensity to train on.

Huge run too from Cascabel who was having his first trip to the city for the 1400m journey at Flemington, taking on a previous city winner in Keano.

Cascabel was something of a giant killer at his most recent outing, defeating Coubertin, the half brother to Haradasun and Elvstroem, at Ballarat in devastating fashion.

The ‘look around’ at headquarters will have done Cascabel no harm and don’t be surprised to see this 3YO shine as the journeys get a tad longer.

While many still remember Bel Esprit as a precocious sprinter, it’s worth noting he did win the Doomben 10,000-G1 over 1350m and ran second in the Caulfield Guineas-G1 after finding more trouble than Flash Gordon.

Furthermore, Cascabel’s mum, Gogo Doll, ran fourth in the SA Oaks-G1 and his half brother Soi Cowboy was fourth in the Victoria Derby-G1.

As for Esprit de Roses, she continued her 1-2 trend when beaten a lip over 1529m at Morphettville.

In a heart stopping finish, Esprit de Roses was beaten by the barest of margins and has now finished first, second, first, second in four runs back from a spell … all in town.

Trained by Phillip Stokes, Esprit de Roses must be given her owners – including Tori Park’s Alastair McFarlane and wife Patricia – heart failure with such close finishes. Still, the mare has now won close to $100,000 in stakes – more than enough to pay for some valium!