Staying Is Almodovar’s Game

11 April 2011

Almodovar may have a long way to go to match the deeds of the outstanding stayer Galilee but the progressive son of WS’s Pins has made an encouraging start.

The three-year-old completed a hat-trick of victories at the weekend when he won the Listed event at Caulfield named after the New Zealand-bred galloper who completed the 1966 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups double.

Trained by Peter Moody who purchased the gelding at Karaka in 2009 for $60,000, Almodovar has made giant strides since the leading Melbourne conditioner stepped him out over ground.

He won his maiden at Pakenham over 1700 metres before winning his Galilee heat over 2000 metres last month and then made short work of his rivals in the final with a dominant display over 2400 metres in Saturday’s final.

“He’s really going the right way as far as staying goes and every time he steps up in distance, he steps up to the plate,” Moody’s assistant trainer Tom Brideoake told the Melbourne Age.

“It’s good to get the black-type win, but we’ll just see how he pulls up before deciding where he goes next.”

A half-brother to the dual Gr 1 winner Perlin (Doomben Cup, Underwood Stakes), Almodovar is out of the stakes-winning Kaapstad mare (My) Midnight Madam. He is now likely to head toward the VRC St Leger and/or the South Australian Derby.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

I keep on proposing my retirement from the burden of a weekly Corner. I make the excuse it is hard to be credible, hard to let the two of you know about anything in our sport that hasn’t been covered before.

27 October 2025

WS-bred On The Lash scores at Sha Tin

Twenty-four hours following the final WS Cox Plate meeting run on the Moonee Valley track of old before it shuts for two years to make way for a new precinct, the race’s 2004 winner, Savabeel, continued his roll of runners, and this time it was via five-year-old On The Lash (ex Candelabra) at Sha Tin.