Burning Front has delivered jockey Brad Rawiller and trainer Darren Weir a running double at Caulfield this afternoon after leading from start to finish in the Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m).
Burning Front had the form on paper to be right in the finish of the Carlyon Cup and Rawiller was able to steer the horse to a soft lead after jumping well and using the favourable barrier 5 to his advantage.
Rounding onto the final straight with a lead of two lengths, the Primus gelding kicked clear of his rivals with 300m to run and while tiring noticeably in the dying stages of the race, had opened a big enough gap to withstand a flying Humidor and a brave Tally.
Rawiller delivered a perfectly-timed ride aboard Burning Front to win the Carlyon Cup and said that he was always confident the horse would be tough to beat after he started so well.
“I had to pick up to a quicker speed, but when he jumped out of the gates he was a length in front straight away,” Rawiller said.
“So he straight away got into a good rhythm and he probably had it way too easy and I was always thinking I wouldn’t get pressure early.
“To the credit of this bloke, we quickened enough to keep them happy behind me and then he was always up for the fight.”
Weir was pleased with Burning Front’s positive Carlyon Cup result, but revealed that he is yet to map out a path for the gelding beyond this afternoon.
“Our other horse challenged late, but he’d got the break on them on the corner and he was always going to be hard to run down.
“He’s a great horse to train and he makes his own luck. Those horses that get back in races need a lot of luck, but he’s the opposite.
“When hits a bit of form he seems to hold it.
“He probably deserves to have a crack at a better race at some stage. To be honest I don’t know where we go now. There is a really good Vobis race coming up, so obviously that’s a great race for him because it’s set-weights and penalties and really good prize money.”
Humidor and Tally both produced eye-catching performances to finish in the minors in the 2017 Carlyon Cup.
