‘The boys have done it': David Hayes proud of sons' landmark Stradbroke Handicap success
David Hayes was watching online from Hong Kong as the progressive four-year-old gelding that is trained by his sons, Ben, JD and Will, franked his tag as $3.20 Stradbroke favourite.
Emotions ran high as the horse formerly trained by the late, great Mike Moroney surged to Stradbroke glory despite a late scare from runner-up Yellow Brick, the Queenslander who was sent out at $41 but almost created a Stradbroke shock.
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Seasoned campaigner Private Eye finished third after being stamped urgent and sent forward at the start, with Joe Pride always concerned that his horse carrying 57kg might be overrun by a talented lightweight.
It seems extraordinary that the famed Lindsay Park dynasty, stretching back decades, never had a Stradbroke winner until Saturday.
They hadn't had a Doncaster winner either until the new generation Hayes boys trained the star Mr Brightside.
David Hayes feels War Machine might be something out of the box.
• What the jockeys said: 2025 Stradbroke Handicap
'The way he won, to run away with it like that, he might be a very good horse,' David Hayes told Racenet from Hong Kong.
'My boys were always confident that he was a Group 1 performer and they have been proven right.
'As long as the horse stays sound, I am sure there are more Group 1s to come.
'Personally, I didn't go to Queensland with a lot of my horses when I was training in Australia but it is certainly great for the family to have now won a Stradbroke.
'The boys have done it.'
There were plenty of feel-good stories in the Stradbroke with Rothfire letting no-one down when finishing seventh and only beaten three lengths on a firm track that was never going to be in his sweet spot.
Truck driver and hobby trainer Craig Cousins was happy enough with the performance of The Inflictor, finishing 11th and beaten less than five lengths, although he cursed the fact he wasn't able to get much clear air in the run.
War Machine had been Stradbroke favourite since his dominant win in the Group 3 BRC Sprint but there had been those questioning his stranglehold on the betting market.
• 'Would have been a Straddie force': Pier wins consolation in style
Even owner Rupert Legh told Racenet last week that he couldn't possibly be backing War Machine at the odds on offer.
It was Legh's fourth Stradbroke win and his thoughts would have been with his great mate Moroney who first identified War Machine as a New Zealander to bring to Australian shores.
Co-trainer Ben Hayes also paid tribute to the late Moroney and hailed the performance of the horse.
'We're very proud, it was an amazing result today,' Ben Hayes said.
'We're fortunate to be able to get that horse from Mike Moroney and he's an amazing, exciting horse.
'It's funny, a lot of people expect him to be a big, powerful horse.
'But he's got a physique like Mr Brightside, so hopefully he's the same.'
Co-trainer Ben Hayes was thrilled with the win. Picture: Trackside Photography
Jockey Tim Clark picked up the ride on War Machine after never having ridden him before.
'I can't take too much credit for it,' Clark said.
'What a great job by Ben and his brothers to just have him spot on for today.
'I was just the lucky one to get the call up.'
Queenslander Yellow Brick, trained by father and daughter team Tony and Maddy Sears, ran the race of his life, and looked set to make things very interesting as he launched a run but failed to nab War Machine.
'I'm really proud of his effort,' jockey Andrew Mallyon said.
'We all feel vindicated as we thought he would run a big race today.'
Tony Gollan's Stradbroke contender Transatlantic, who only sneaked into the field on Friday as an emergency, was strongly backed to start $9 but didn't have any luck from a wide barrier and finished ninth.
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