G1 target in sight for Cascadian following G3 Rosehill win

A storming finishing burst earned Cascadian his first Stakes victory in Saturday’s G3 Doncaster Prelude at Rosehill and prepared him for a G1 attempt at Randwick next weekend.

The misfortune Cascadian had suffered in his previous two starts turned around in his latest outing with trainer James Cummings declaring: “The tectonic plates shifted for him.”

“This performance was so similar to what he showed us in his first campaign in Australia."

“By the time he got to the end of it he was at G1-level, finishing third in the Cantala Stakes at Flemington.”

Cascadian’s latest victory earned automatic and penalty-free entry into next Saturday’s $3m G1 Doncaster Mile in which the gelding is handicapped to carry 53.5kg.

Cascadian’s wide draw in the Prelude obliged him to be dropped out of the race early, but his rider James McDonald threaded a path through the field and the gelding let down powerfully to grab the lead in the final 100m and win by a head from Mask Of Time and fellow Godolphin runner Gaulois.

McDonald endorsed Cummings’ view that Cascadian warranted consideration in the Doncaster.

“He’ll be in it up to his ears,” McDonald said.

“He wanted to have a real, good crack out there today and with the weight he has next week he has to be a big chance.”

Formerly trained in France by Andre Fabre, Cascadian had won three times in Fracne and had shown G1 potential when second in the 2018 Prix Jean Prat at Deauville. He was also placed at the top level in the G1 Canatala Stakes at Flemington last spring when third to Fierce Impact and Fifty Stars.

On the same Rosehill card, Avilius finished third in the G1 Tancred Stakes while Manicure and Kementari finished second and third respectively in the G3 Star Kingdom Stakes.