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

We live in a vastly different world to the world I was born into 80 years ago. Of course, I would not feel the effects of the political values of the time with any likelihood of understanding, perhaps for 30 years, and yet the environment in which my cousins and I were raised in has had an entrenched effect on our lives.

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