September 18, 2013Newhaven Park’s Charlie Boy wins the Gr 2 Danehill Stakes
Charlie Boy fulfils promise for Gerald Ryan with stunning Danehill Stakes win
by:Rod Nicholson From: Herald Sun September 07, 2013 4:25pm
GERALD Ryan has a genuine Caulfield Guineas chance after Charlie Boy won the Group 2 Danehill Stakes at Flemington.
The three-year-old colt fulfilled his unbridled promise with a three-quarter-of-a-length win over in-form Peter Moody-trained filly Kiss A Rose ($16), with a head back to previously unbeaten SA colt Eclair Big Bang ($18).
Sportsbet.com.au immediately slashed his Guineas price from $67 into $13.
Charlie Boy promised to be a quality two-year-old, but finished midfield in the Golden Slipper as ailments took hold.
Ryan always believed he would be a superior older colt and he put paid to one of the deepest quality Danehill Stakes fields in memory.
Owner Chris Ward said that Charlie Boy “showed great ability from day one” and that the Danehill performance was brilliant.
“But I think he will be better over a mile,” he said, referring to the Caulfield Guineas distance in the stallion-making race to be run on October 12.
The $85,000 buy now has won $300,000 with two wins and a third from seven starts.
Jockey Michael Rodd, fresh from his Scobie Breasley Medal success, said the win was “arrogant.”
“He was always likely to be a quality three-year-old and he showed a brilliant turn of foot today over the 1200m,” Rodd said.
Kiss A Rose, who is likely to contest the Thousand Guineas and whose price was cut from $21 to $17, rattled home for second to follow up her Caulfield success, while the Phillip Stokes-trained Eclair Big Bang lost no admirers when suffering his first career defeat. He came in from $21 to $13 for the Guineas.
Safeguard ($4.40 fav), the previously unbeaten colt from the Peter Snowden yard, toughed it out for fourth, just a nose behind the place-getters.
Charlie Boy joins the Danehill Stakes honour-roll of recent winners Snitzerland, Sepoy, Soul and Black Caviar.
