AFT Cabin’s spectacular return to racing with his victory in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) at Randwick which underlined why he is regarded as the best three-year-old in the land.
Making it even more impressive was his time of 1.08.85 min when he looked to be in cruise control in his first run after being banned for three months after he suffered a bleeding attack.
James Cummings was excited but guarded after the win pointing out that Aft Cabin still needed to do it at the top level pointing out that he’d won a Caulfield Guineas Prelude and an Eskimo Prince at this stage of his career.
It would be a surprise if he didn’t win at the highest level over the course of the Sydney autumn carnival.
McDonald was at a loss for a superlative to describe the win and came up with “ooh la-lah.”
Similarly, the Hawkes teams’ sprinter Remarque showed he is capable of winning a Group 1 sprint this campaign with his victory in the Benchmark 94 over 1000 metres.
Michael Hawkes said Remarque, who was once Golden Slipper Stakes favourite, had always had above average ability.
He said a throat operation and gelding had turned his career around.
He has won three of his four starts since then with his only failure in the Sydney Stakes.
Hawkes pointed out that Remarque still carried 62 kilos and ran his last 600 metres in 32 seconds.
He said they were considering starting Remarque in the Oakleigh Plate at Sandown on February 25.
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