With a field of 15 going to post there was always likely to be a battle for the early lead and fast opening furlongs from the likes of Jonquil, Crown Board, Comanche Brave and Maljoom helped to ensure that this race was run at a strong pace over the opening 2 furlongs. Strauss was always in the right position, showing good early speed after reaching 50 km/h in just 5.2s when the stalls opened. Settled behind the early leaders at the end of the opening couple of furlongs, Moreira was able to keep his mount covered up and settled, which wasn’t the case for all of those in behind. As the pace chart provided by TPD shows, the gallop remained relatively relentless and with the vast majority of the field running sub 11s for the 2nd furlong, this race was always likely to develop into a true test for these thoroughbreds. At the halfway stage, Strauss was taken back slightly by Moreira as those on his outside began to move across to get into a prominent position around the turn. It would have been very easy for Moreira to panic at that point and try to force his way wide for more racing room. Instead, he took the bold approach and his experience and calm in the saddle proved the key. Strauss held his line behind the leaders and waited for the gaps to come.

When a ride like this comes off, it is natural for a lot of praise to be heaped upon the jockey, but to win any race, let alone a prestigious contest like this, requires a partnership. It’s an old saying that “you have to have the right horse underneath you to go and win the race”, but it rings true. When the gaps came in the closing stages, Strauss was ready to go through them to win his race. A late speed figure of 62.24 km/h may have been surpassed by the fast finishing Dark Trooper (2nd), but by the time his rival was in the clear and closing him down in the centre of the course, Strauss had already won the race. Rio Takei’s charge recorded an average stride length of 7.61m, considerably longer than the 7.32m averages recorded by the 2nd and 3rd placed horses. That long stride reached a peak average of 7.75m and once in the clear, it was very unlikely that anything was going to be able to make up the 3 length advantage that Strauss was able to build up in the penultimate furlong. Comanche Brave and in particular Dark Trooper did their best to run him down and the latter did run faster closing splits after a much more difficult passage towards the rear of the field, but the race was already won.