Trekking storms to victory in G1 Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm

A faultless performance by horse, jockey and training team added up to a 13th G1 win for Godolphin in 2019 when Trekking powered to victory in Saturday’s Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm. 

Trekking went into the Stradbroke as the best credentialled of Godolphin’s four runners and confirmed that status when he sprinted to the front at the 200m and kept up a strong gallop to win by a length and three quarters from Tyzone and Endless Drama.

Trainer James Cummings said, "You don't get too many chances at a Stradbroke so we didn't leave much to chance.

"I ran him in the Kingsford-Smith Cup here two weeks ago to have a look at the track.

"Then he had a very good gallop on the course proper on Tuesday to get him ready.

“To everyone at Osborne Park and the team in Melbourne, this is a tribute.

“We could have done more with him in the autumn, but we held him back for the dry tracks that he prefers.”

For the Cummings team, the win was the eighth G1 for the season that ends on Tuesday, 30 July, the other four coming from Saeed bin Suroor and Charlie Appleby who last spring secured the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double with Best Solution and Cross Counter.

Trekking came to the Stradbroke with his win in the G3 Hall Mark Stakes at Randwick in April as his best performance, but he gave a large clue to his prospects when third in the G1 Kingsford-Smith Cup two weeks ago.

The A$900,000 winner’s cheque took his earnings to $1.54 million and carried the Cummings stable’s earnings for the season to date beyond A$28.5 million.

The win also continued the successful relationship between Godolphin and winning rider Kerrin McEvoy who for rode for many years for Godolphin as a retained jockey in Europe and Dubai and last spring partnered Cross Counter to his Melbourne Cup success.

It also demonstrated yet again the influence his late sire, Street Cry, has had on Australian and world racing.

Godolphin is likely to be represented in the final G1 of the Australian season at Eagle Farm on Saturday, 22 June by Multaja in the Tatts Tiara.