Diddle Dumpling shines with frontrunning victory
The Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou-trained filly back-to-back victories for the first time in her career with a sustained frontrunning performance in the The Agency Real Estate Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m).
Ryan and Alexiou have always held Diddle Dumpling in high regard but have been forced to wait patiently for her to put it all together.
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The daughter of Deep Field has returned a more complete package this campaign and it showed on her home track
'She has settled a lot in the brain this time around,' Ryan said.
'She had a good spell up and came back a lot stronger.
'She is a lot more settled in herself but she has always had the ability, it was just a matter of getting her to do things right.
'This time around she has done everything right.'
A wide draw saw jockey Tim Clark make the decision to push forward early and control the race on Diddle Dumpling.
He kicked a length and a half clear early in the straight and Diddle Dumpling was able to hold her rivals at bay, scoring by a length from Matthew Smith's Golden Straand ($13) with the Michael Freedman-trained Codetta ($5.50 favourite) in third.
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'She is a nice filly that can progress to a better grade,' Clark said.
'I think she can be versatile. Obviously our hand, we didn't have a lot of options out there and we had to roll with her.
'I was happy enough from out there to show my intent and generally if you show intent from out there you are a good chance of finding the front.
'She was able to do that and travel well. It took her 100m to work through her gears but when she got to her top she lengthened really well.'
Diddle Dumpling was tested in stakes grade during her two-year-old and three-year-old seasons, including finishing fifth in last year's Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes.
Ryan has ambitions to give Diddle Dumpling another chance in better company soon.
'We would love to get black type with her,' he said.
'There are a couple of those early mares races in August-September might be alright for her.
'We will see what's around.'
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
African Daisy completed the ultimate form reversal in the space of just a week to score her first victory in just under 900 days at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
A week after failing to beat a runner home at the same venue, the Jason Deamer-trained mare made a sensational return to form to score a determined win in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1200m).
African Daisy hadn't won a race since January 28, 2023 heading into Saturday when the daughter of American Pharoah had been trained by Annabel Archibald.
But Deamer's decision to reach into the gear bag and add blinkers paid significant dividends.
'From the get-go she was really intent on putting herself there,' jockey Tim Clark said.
'She was really intent on putting herself into the race and showed she really wanted to be there.
'The blinkers really worked.
'Jase always turns out his horses in really good order and he's done a great job with her to turn her around.'
Clark was able to make the most of barrier one to have African Daisy ($10) travelling behind the leaders on the fence.
The energy conserving run allowed African Daisy to show a fresh set of heels as the six-year-old did enough to deny the Kerry Parker-trained Equilibrist ($7.50) and Ross McConville's Donwon ($17).
'She appreciated getting her toe into the ground, a good draw and a nice run,' Clark said.
'Things fell into place for her today and that's not always going to be the case but it was good to see when they did, she was able to capitalise on it.'
Dynamic Syndications revealed African Daisy had been set for retirement but her victory could see the mare race on a little longer.
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