Redzel, winner of the inaugural TAB Everest Stakes (G1), silenced any remaining doubters with his sixth straight victory Nov. 10 at Flemington in the Darley Classic (G1).
The 5-year-old Snitzel gelding shot quickly to the front as the field split into two groups. Taking the point on the stands side under Kerrin McEvoy, Redzel powered home first by three-quarters of a length.
Terravista, who added blinkers, ran well to finish second, another three-quarters of a length to the good of Impending. Chautauqua, once the world's top-rated sprinter, duplicated his fourth-place finish in the Everest and extended his winless streak to four starts.
Redzel, trained by Peter and Paul Snowden for a large syndicate of "common man" owners, finished last season with two victories. This term he picked up where he left off. He won his first two races at Randwick before he landed the winner's share of the AUS$10 million (US$7.66 million) Everest over the same course Oct. 14.
There still were doubters who credited Redzel's win streak to extenuating circumstances, but Peter Snowden said the Darley victory should silence that talk.
"His record speaks for itself," he said.
Snowden said no firm course has been laid for the 5-year-old gelding but indicated international travel is not in the cards for the horse his owners and fans call "Red."
"There's no need to travel them when there's so much money here in Australia," he said. Snowden indicated a go at next year's Everest is more likely than a journey Royal Ascot.
Also Nov. 10 at Flemington, Tosen Stardom scored his second win in Australia, where he took the 2,000-meter Emirates Stakes (G1) by 1 1/2 lengths over Happy Clapper. The favorite, Folkswood, finished fifth.
Tosen Stardom, trained by Darren Weir and ridden in the Emirates by Damian Lane, is a 7-year-old son of Deep Impact. He finished second in the Ranvet Stakes (G1) during a brief visit to Australia in 2015, then returned to Japan. In eight previous starts during his current tenure down under, his only win was the United Petroleum Toorak Handicap (G1) at Caulfield Oct. 14.
