 "God
bless New Zealand, thank christ for Australia."It
was a classic quote used by New Zealand born and Australian raised Hollywood star Russell
Crowe.
Yesterday however it was a fellow Kiwi born and current
Australian based star that used the classic quote in describing his day out at the office.
Greg Childs, explained later he "just had to use"
the statement after the proud kiwi had taken riding honours at Caulfield with four winners
on Australia Day.
Adding further merit to the performance was the fact that
Childs only had six rides on the eight event card.
The big day in the saddle kicked off when he scored a dashing
win on the Tony McEvoy trained Noble Glow. A former Group One Racing Club Syndicate horse,
the mare by Melbourne Cup winner Jeune showed blistering pace and never looked like
losing.
After sitting out the second race Childs was back in the
winner's stall when Bardego landed some good wagers by scoring a three quarter length win
in the Group Three AAMI Blue Diamond Preview for fillies. A member of the Leon Corstens
stable, the $45,000 yearling purchase in Adelaide last year stakes her claims for the
Group One Blue Diamond Stakes with a time faster than the male division winner Bel Esprit.
After missing a place with The Little Tacker, Childs was
again unsaddling a winner in the form of the promising McEvoy trained filly Elegant
Fashion. After getting back in the field and forced to cover ground the filly produced a
power house finish to get up in the final stride.
About 40 minutes later the Childs quarter was completed when
the frustrating grey colt Dash for Cash won his second race in the listed Australia Day
Vase. Having to dig deep in the final stages after a determined challenged from the in
form Barkada, Dash for Cash was too strong, winning by a head.
Childs said after Dash for Cash had won that the Caulfield
performance equalled his second best ever day on a metropolitan track.
"I once rode five winners from five rides at Flemington
in the mid 90s, and I have ridden four on quite a few occasions," Childs said.
"But it's been a few years since I did, so I'm pretty
pleased with the four today," he added.
Childs' best day in the saddle was just over a decade ago
when he won on his five mounts at Flemington on January 2nd, 1992.
PIC - Quentin
Lang |
