Black Heart Bart broke through for a well-deserved maiden Group 1 victory with a tough effort in the 2016 The Goodwood at Morphettville this afternoon.
Black Heart Bart wins The Goodwood at Morphettvile. Photo by Jenny Barnes.
Black Heart Bart was extremely well-backed in the lead-up to The Goodwood, but there were a few nervous moments for punters as she was shuffled back in the field and seemed to be under pressure at the 600 metre mark.
Super One kicked away at the top of the straight and it looked as though Black Heart Bart would be blocked for a run, but he responded strongly when he found clear running and he held-off Under The Louvre and Supido.
Black Heart Bart has gone to another level since he joined the stable of Darren Weir at the start of his autumn preparation, but Weir was quick to credit the condition in which he received the horse and was simply thrilled to see the five-year-old win a Group 1 event in The Goodwood.
“All his runs for me have been terrific and his form before he came over to us was terrific,” Weir said.
“He has held it and it is great to see a horse like this win a Group 1 because he has deserved it.
“He is a good class horse and I have to thank the owners for sending him to me.
“He is a big gangly bugger and you would think that he would be better over a trip, but he is just the perfect horse to train.”
Weir confirmed that Black Heart Bart will now head to Brisbane for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 11 and he believes that the three weeks between runs is ideal.
“The plan all along was to come here and the space in between runs has been terrific,” Weir said.
“When he ran second last start we targeted this race and it three weeks into the Stradbroke, which is ideal.”
Jockey Brad Rawiller has now ridden Black Heart Bart twice for two wins and he was clearly delighted to have won another Group 1 event – the 19th of his career.
Rawiller admitted that not everything went to plan in the run and he had to get further back than he expected, but he was confident that Black Heart Bart would be able to get the job done once he found clear running.
“That was a great field that day at Caulfield, even though that was the low-rating race he has raced in this preparation, but if you look at his other two runs in the Newmarket and his second in Sydney were outstanding in their own right,” Rawiller said.
“It was great today to be able to get that Group 1 for Darren, the owners and the team.”
Under The Louvre flew home late to finish second, while Supido handled the step-up to Group 1 level comfortably to finish third.
