Palazzo Pubblico showed an impressive turn-of-foot to return to the races with a strong victory in the 2016 Alinghi Stakes at Caulfield this afternoon.
Palazzo Pubblico finished over the top of her rivals to record an impressive win in the 2016 Alinghi Stakes. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Jockey Steven Arnold elected to settle Palazzo Pubblico at the tail of the field in the early stages of the Alinghi Stakes, while Aunty Mo ensured that the race was run at a genuine tempo, but she absolutely motored home in the final 200 metres to swamp the rest of the field down the outside.
Palazzo Pubblico had not been seen at the races since she failed to fire in the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 25, but she had impressed Arnold in two recent barrier trials and the veteran hoop said that he was not surprised with the Alinghi Stakes performance of the Conatus mare.
“She was quite fresh even going to the stalls and I thought that it was critical I get some cover and save her for one burst because she is first-up,” Arnold said.
“She has been trialing really well in Sydney and I was confident that if I could get cover she would sprint well.
“Matthew bought her down and she is obviously good fresh and she sprinted quickly.”
There was a shock just before the running of the Alinghi Stakes as pre-race favourite Super Cash was scratched from the race at the barriers.
Punters were left confused as Super Cash was not involved in an incident at the barriers and Racing Victoria Head Steward Terry Bailey revealed that Craig Williams was unhappy with her action in the lead-up to the Alinghi Stakes.
“Craig Williams asked the vets to have a look at it and the vets weren’t happy,” Bailey said.
“They weren’t happy with its action and she was diagnosed as being lame.”
Flippant ended up starting the race as favourite, but he had no luck in running whatsoever and was smashed on a couple of occasions in the straight, while there was a host of other hard-luck stories in the race.
The victory of Palazzo Pubblico continued a rough start to the day for punters as the first three winners on Caulfield Cup Day all started at double-figure odds.
