Australia: Ironclad looks for better trip in Murray Bridge Gold Cup

Wide trips have been a recent curse for the well-bred gelding Ironclad, who starts in Friday’s Murray Bridge Gold Cup at Murray Bridge Racecourse outside of Adelaide, Australia.

Ironclad was ninth and 10th in stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs and seven furlongs in August and September after wide trips. A longer race in the one-mile Murray Bridge Gold Cup could help reverse that trend, even though Ironclad will start from the outside in a field of 18.

Jockey Todd Pannell, who won aboard Ironclad in a one-mile handicap in February, will be tasked with the role of trying to save ground in the Murray Bridge Gold Cup, run around a turn on a left-handed course.

The distance is a good fit for Ironclad, a 6-year-old English-bred gelding who won four consecutive starts earlier this year, including two minor stakes at a mile.

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Ironclad is by Dubawi and is out of Heat Haze, winner of two Grade 1 races in the United States in 2003 for Juddmonte Farm and trainer Bobby Frankel – the Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park and the Matriarch Stakes at Hollywood Park.

Ironclad began his career in England with trainer Hugo Palmer. Now trained by Will Clarken, Ironclad has won 6 of 11 starts and will carry top weight of 131 pounds in the Murray Bridge Gold Cup.

Lord Vladivostok, winner of the Group 3 R.A. Lee Stakes at a mile at Morphettville Racecourse in May, will be favored. Trained at Murray Bridge by Michael Hickmott, Lord Vladivostok was second in a seven-furlong handicap on Oct. 2 at Morphettville in his first start since the Lee Stakes.

Lord Vladivostok was third to Ironclad in the C.S. Hayes Stakes at a mile at Morphettville in March.

Ritratto, second in the Hayes field, is part of the Murray Bridge Gold Cup, but will be a higher price than Lord Vladivostok or Ironclad. Ritratto was seventh in the same race at Lord Vladivostok on Oct. 2, beaten only three lengths.

Murray Bridge has a nine-race program that begins at 9:40 p.m. Eastern, or 6:40 p.m. Pacific, on Thursday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Verry Elleegant named Australia Horse of the Year

The 6-year-old New Zealand-bred mare Verry Elleegant was named Australian Horse of the Year for the 2020-21 season that ended July 31 in a virtual ceremony earlier this week.

Verry Ellegant won five Group 1 races to clinch the championship, including the Caulfield Cup in October 2020, one of the country’s top handicaps. Verry Elleegant also was recognized in three other categories – champion mare, middle-distance horse, and stayer.

Verry Ellegant remains in training and is a Group 1 winner at the current season. She is scheduled to start in the Group 1 Cox Plate on Oct. 23, the country’s leading weight-for-age race. Trained by Chris Waller, Verry Elleegant has won 14 of 32 starts.

Other awards went to Stay Inside, 2-year-old; Ole Kirk, 3-year-old male; Hungry Heat, 3-year-old filly; Nature Strip, sprinter; and Gold Medals, jumper.
Nature Strip was the Horse of the Year for the 2019-20 season. There is no award specifically for 2-year-old filly.