Naval College smashes Octagonal's record in January Cup
Emerging stayer Naval College gave his best mate Jett Stanley his first stakes win and smashed the Rosehill 2000m record in the January Cup on Saturday.
The record had been held by group 1 winners Danewin and Octagonal and stood for more than 20 years, but the Annabel Neasham-trained Naval College clipped nearly a second off it as he combined with Stanley for a fourth win, all of which had followed a similar pattern.
“I get along with him so well, he’s been such a good horse to me,” Stanley said. “To come here to Rosehill and win my first stakes race, I can’t thank the team enough.
“I knew Andrew [Adkins on Riyazan] was one of the horses to beat, and I was able to follow him into the race. When I got to the outside of him I knew they weren’t going to be coming at me by the way we put the pace on a long way out. He stayed until the line.”
Naval College ($3) had a margin of three lengths from Riyazan ($16), with Lord Ardmore ($26) closing late to run third a long neck away. The rest of the field unsurprisingly came in at big intervals.
- Article: Sydney Morning Herald