The Championships Day 1: Vinrock ends 44-year hoodoo to claim Sires’ double and becomes first 2YO Group 1 winner for champion sire I Am Invincible

This was the guessing game for breeding experts after Vinrock finished fast to win the $1m Inglis Sires’ (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

There were estimates Vinrock’s worth as a potential stallion prospect would be in excess of $20m but Laurie wasn’t about to buy into the speculation.

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Instead, Laurie just wanted to savour the moment after an extraordinary week where the Mornington-based mentor also prepared wonder filly Treasurethe Moment to win the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill last Tuesday.

“I’m lost for words, this is incredible,” Laurie said.

“To win two Group 1 races in Sydney this week is hard to describe, it really is. This is a dream come true.”

Vinrock, ridden by Mark Zahra, was well backed into $3.40 favouritism and he darted through the inside of the pack to win by half neck from State Visit ($18) with a half-head to Buffalo ($18) third.

Less than a length separated the top five finishes with Wodeton (fourth) and Rivellino (fifth) both racing without luck.

Vinrock was purchased by Laurie for $300,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and the colt now has the distinction of being the first Group 1-winning two-year-old colt by Yarraman Park’s three-time Australian Champion sire, I Am Invincible.

“It was a great performance from the horse,” Laurie said.

“In the last race they really got out wide and they were smacking the line, so I was a bit worried about the inside draw but he’s tough as nails.”

Laurie was then asked when he first felt Vinrock was a Sires’ horse and his answer came as a surprise: “From the first moment I rode him after he was broken in,” the trainer said.

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When asked to explain, Laurie said the good horses like Vinrock give their rider “a different feel”.

“They just move differently, handle the work and recover well,” Laurie said.

“But he was the first one that I’ve ridden that gave me that feel first time.

“Overall, I think he’s a ripping colt. He’s got a good brain, he’s fantastic to ride, he’s got great recovery and he’s just tough.”

Vinrock only made his debut at Pakenham in February, winning his maiden easily before he went straight to 1400m to win the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes.

He’s now become the first horse since Full On Aces in 1981 to complete the VRC Sires-ATC Sires double.

Laurie, who has been training about just over 20 years and is closing in on 600 career wins including five at Group 1 level, said Vinrock’s rivals had their chance to beat him in the straight.

“I mean he was under siege there and he just kept coming,” Laurie said. “It’s an incredible effort to do all this in his first preparation.”

Zahra, a renowned big-race jockey, found the right part of the track to steer Vinrock to victory.

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“Matt was like ‘just find your way to come off the fence,’ and I said ‘well, it’s a Group 1, they’re not just going to let me off the fence,” Zahra said.

“I’ve walked the track and I knew the fence was no good but you only had to come two or three off and I believe it’s not so bad.

“So, I just waited to get my time and then he took a little while to hit his straps but when I got a head on Gai Waterhouse’s runner (Bellazaine) he dug deep. I felt like they were coming to him but he held on late strongly.”

Zahra said despite what Vinrock has achieved this season, the colt will only improve with race experienced.

“He’s a ‘gentleman’ to ride and he’s a winner. He’s still unbeaten and he just loves winning,” Zahra said.

“They were a fair way away from him, so he couldn’t see them but he still had his head out and was having a crack. It was a great win.”

Laurie said if Vinrock pulls up in good order he was likely to back the colt up in the Group 1 $1 million Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on April 19.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Crack colt North England bounces back in Kindergarten

Brilliant colt North England probably left trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott wondering what might have been after his tough win in the opener on day one of The Championships at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

North England raced on speed and fought off a series of challengers to win the Group 3 $250,000 Kindergarten Stakes (1100m).

This was a deserved win for the speedy North England after his preparation for the Golden Slipper was disrupted after a training setback earlier in the autumn. He eventually ran sixth to Marhoona in the world’s richest juvenile race.

Bott wasn’t blaming the setback for North England’s Golden Slipper defeat but it was clear the Kindergarten result was vindication of the stable’s high opinion of their two-year-old,

“North England was always our number one seed for the Slipper but he’s had a frustrating campaign,” Bott said.

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“This is really satisfying because the horse has so much talent and things haven’t necessarily gone right for him throughout the campaign, so to capitalise and finish on a good note, I guess, is very rewarding for the owners and connections.

“Obviously they put a lot in looking for these types of horses and colts, so to get a nice win for a talented two-year-old on a big day like today,”

North England ($3.90), ridden by Tim Clark, held off King Of Pop ($3.40 favourite) to win by a half neck with Beskar ($3.50) a short neck away third.

A minor protest lodged by connections of Beskar against King Of Pop took stewards only seconds to dismiss.

Clark said North England “was really well in himself today, really fresh, he’s pinged out, put himself on speed and toughed it out well.”

“I thought that he presented the fittest that he’s been all prep today and just trying to play catch up might have just taken the edge off him,” Clark said.

“Maybe at this stage 1100m is a lovely sweet spot for him but hopefully next time when he strengthens a little bit more he can extend that brilliance out to 1200m.”

North England, a son of 2020 Golden Slipper winner Farnan, is raced by a high profile group of owners including Newgate Farm supremo Henry Field, China Horse Club, Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, Steve Grant and Nick Vass.

Field said North England has elite speed which he hopes the colt will stretch out to 1200m next season.

“I think a race like the Moir Stakes (1000m, Moonee Valley) could be a target for him early in the spring,” Field said.

Originally published as The Championships Day 1: Vinrock ends 44-year hoodoo to claim Sires’ double and becomes first 2YO Group 1 winner for champion sire I Am Invincible