Australia: I Wish I Win noses Fangirl in Golden Eagle Stakes

I Wish I Win was acquired from New Zealand earlier this year by Australian trainer Peter Moody with the hope the gelding would thrive in the lucrative cup races at countryside tracks.

I Wish I Win has done so much more.

On Saturday, I Wish I Win won Australia’s second-richest race, the $6.48 million Golden Eagle Stakes at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney. The Golden Eagle Stakes is run at 7 1/2 furlongs for Southern Hemisphere 4-year-olds.

I Wish I Win, ridden by Luke Nolen, took the lead in the final furlong and held off an unlucky Fangirl to win by a nose. I Wish I Win paid $28.90. Fangirl (12-1) raced in traffic in the stretch and closed rapidly once clear.

Gypsy Goddess (18-1) finished third, beaten slightly more than three-quarters of a length.

Light Infantry, second in two Group 1 races in France in the summer, was the 3-2 favorite in his Australian debut and finished sixth by slightly less than two lengths.

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I Wish I Win, by Savabeel, is co-owned by Moody and Mark Chittick, who owns Waikato Stud in New Zealand.

I Wish I Win is a gelding who has won 5 of 13 starts. In Australia, I Wish I Win has won three of four starts, with the lone loss a fifth by 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap at a mile at Caulfield Racecourse on Oct. 8.

Moody is well known as the trainer of Black Caviar, the undefeated sprinter who won 25 races from 2009 to 2013. Nolen rode Black Caviar in a majority of her races.

Moody was suspended for six months in 2016 for a medication violation, but has resumed a prominent role in Australian racing in recent years.

The Golden Eagle Stakes, launched only in 2019, is second in prize money in Australia to the $9.3 million Everest Stakes for sprinters, run on Oct. 15.

The Group 1 Melbourne Cup, the country’s most famous race, will be run on Monday evening across American time zones and is worth $4.96 million this year.

In the race preceding the Golden Eagle Stakes, Private Eye ($9.40) won the $1.94 million Nature Strip Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs by 1 1/4 lengths over 3-1 Mazu.

Private Eye, a winner of 10 of 23 starts, was second in the Everest Stakes.

SUNDAY PREVIEW

The 4-year-old gelding Bow, unraced since May, will be favored to win for the second time in his fifth start in a five-furlong handicap at Ballina Racecourse on Sunday evening across American time zones.

Bow won his third start in a maiden race at about 4 3/4 furlongs at Grafton Racecourse in April and was third by 2 1/4 lengths as the 3-2 favorite in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Armidale Racecourse on May 6 in his most recent appearance.

Trained by Donna Grisedale, Bow is part of a field of 10 and will be ridden by apprentice Jasper Franklin. The presence of Franklin reduced Bow’s weight assignment from 134.4 pounds to 131.

Bow’s main threat is Continuum, a 5-year-old mare who will carry low weight of 121 pounds.

Continuum has a single win in 37 starts, and has been second or third in her last five starts. Continuum’s win occurred in her 31st start in a six-furlong maiden race at Grafton in March.

Continuum will be ridden by Jon Grisedale, 59, the husband of Donna Grisedale. Jon Grisedale has 3 wins from 50 mounts from Sept. 8 through Saturday.

Ballina has a seven-race program beginning at 11:10 p.m. Eastern, or 8:10 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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