Lost And Running stakes claim for another Everest assault
For the majority of the spring, Lost And Running has been the up-and-comer taking on the big boys, but the tables were turned in the $1 million The Hunter (1300m) at Newcastle on Saturday and he delivered like a star in the making should.
He was on another level to his Hunter rivals despite lumping 59kg from a wide draw, and the win suggested that there is more in the tank for 2022.
Lost And Running eases to the post ahead of Wandabaa and Top Ranked.Credit:Getty
There was no Nature Strip, Eduardo or Masked Crusader in The Hunter, and Hugh Bowman rode Lost And Running with the confidence of being on the best horse in the race, sitting three-wide before accelerating away from score the easiest of wins.
âHe has been racing the best horses in country and he has come here without them for company,â Bowman said. âAt this stage, those horses are just too good for him, but he showed today what he has been doing all along.
âWe were ultra-confident here today, and the draw in fact didnât worry me too much, especially with that big headwind once I got here today. Heâs a horse that likes room.
âYou can see as I turned for home he looked under pressure, but once he balanced up and changed legs, he just extended away and won with the authority that we expected him to. He is a very exciting horse for next year.
âHe has run well, so I think The Hunter has certainly stamped itself as a race for future stars.â
Lost And Running ($2.50 fav) had 1¼ lengths to spare from Wandabaa ($41), with imported miler Trop Ranked ($4.20) another half-length back in third, but the margin could have been bigger.
Those that questioned Lost And Running after he failed on a wet track in The Shorts will have reassessed him with his fourth in the Premiere Stakes and The Everest before beating all but Eduardo in the Classique Legend Stakes.
The Hunter victory came at only his 12th career start and was his seventh win.
Trainer John OâShea had no doubt about backing him up after the Classique Legend and hopes The Hunter victory will get the phone running about The Everest next year.
âThis preparation was still about seasoning and educating him, and I thought we got there in the Classique Legend and here was about getting the cream,â OâShea said.
âWhen we got home after the Classique Legend he had put on five kilos, and I thought bugger if you need to go to the paddock.
âYou could see today the improvement he had made and raced accordingly. I thought the slot-holders might have been asking us about The Everest already, but that win might get the phone ringing.â
OâShea listed the Canterbury Stakes and All Aged Stakes as possible group 1 targets for Lost And Running in a light autumn before a likely second Everest campaign.
Bowman will be sticking with Lost And Running and would welcome the challenge of the Nature Strips and Eduardos of this world.
âThe horses he has been racing against, whether theyâre going to drop or not I donât know, but theyâre not going to improve on what theyâre doing,â Bowman said.
âLost And Running, Iâm a bit suspicious he might be better suited beyond that Everest distance [1200m].
âHe might be better suited pushing more towards a mile. He has matured so much this preparation, really relaxed, and he really is a different horse.â
Newcastle syndicators Australian Bloodstock again had to settle for the minor money in The Hunter with Wandabaa and Top Ranked, but principal Jamie Lovett liked what he saw from the import in particular.
âThe winner was too good but I go away from here with a bit of hope,â Lovett said. âWandabaa was fantastic, and I think you are going to see a proper miler in Top Ranked next year. This is going to be a very good form race.â
Top Rankedâs trainer, Annabel Neasham, was delighted with his first experience of Australian racing.
âWe wanted him to have that because it would have been a long time between his last run in August,â Neasham said. âThat was a good experience for him because he got left a bit flat-footed when they sprinted, which is the difference between Australian and European racing, but he was very strong and came again on the line.
âHe is an exciting horse.â
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