It’s a day of comebacks at Randwick, and it was the turn of dual Doomben Cup hero Huetor (Fr) to put his best hoof forward in the Group III Toyota Forklifts JRA Plate (2000m).
Ridden by Nash Rawiller for Peter and Paul Snowden, the 7-year-old son of Archipenko (USA) stuck hard up against the rail to defeat the Verdi gelding Goldman by two and a quarter lengths with the 6-year-old Shocking gelding Hezashocka one and three-quarter lengths back in third.
Paul Snowden said Huetor (Fr) is gradually working up to his best after overcoming a serious eye injury.
“We’re starting to get there,” he said.
“Honestly, there were plenty of excuses in his first-up run. He got caught behind a horse that was going nowhere. He got dragged back through the ruck and he’s a horse once you start to let him come up underneath you, you’ve got to really go with him and just keep pointing him in the right direction.”
“You can’t stop and start him. Believe it or not, I reckon he’s won about four or five races just cutting the corner and coming up the fence like that.”
“I believe he’s going better than what his last run suggests. It is a little shock because he has struggled in these heavy conditions before. But obviously, we’re heading up to the Hollindale and the Doomben Cup, and he’s going up there in really good form.”
“Lauren, who looks after this horse, has lived with him day and night. We actually took him out of the hospital and we cared for him ourselves, and there’s no better than being at home and trying to get them a little bit better and a little more comfortable. It’s all testament to her and what she did for him to get him back as good as he has. And it’s a good result for everyone.”
Nash Rawiller confided he was thrilled to be gifted an inside run.
“I think the fence has been pretty good all day,” Rawiller said.
“He drew one, I let him find his feet. He’s probably not rock-hard fit yet but he was able to conserve his energy in the run. Like I said to connections before the race, ‘if we get to the half-mile and we’re going alright, we’ll know we’re a chance’ because the ground might have found him out by then.
“You could see there that he was travelling, and he’s got a terrific turn of foot, we know that. You don’t win Doomben Cups if you don’t have that sort of ability.”
Huetor (FR) advances his record to eight wins, one second, and three thirds from 30 starts with earnings of $1,877,271.
Bred by Sarl Darpat France, Huetor (FR) is a half-brother to the 2019 Group 1 Longchamp Prix de l'Opera winner Villa Marina (Le Havre).
They are two of the six winners from ten to race out of the stakes-winning Peintre Celebre mare Briviesca.
The Group 1 HK Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Archipenko (Kingmambo), died at Lanwades Stud in 2017 at the age of 13.
