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| Staff Writer |
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Sheila Laxon holds a special place in her heart for Caulfield Cup Day. This year, however, it may hold even more significance if Knight's Choice, the winner of the Winx Guineas, can secure a victory at Randwick and earn a spot in the Golden Eagle. If this happens, it will be a truly synchronistic moment for Sheila Laxon, Knight's Choice's trainer.
During the Spring Wild Card Day in Sydney, Melbourne celebrates the Caulfield Cup Day. It was exactly 22 years ago on that very same afternoon when Laxon won the historic race with Ethereal, who also triumphed in the Melbourne Cup that year. The grand staying mare now has a race named after her on the Caulfield Cup undercard, and Laxon remembers her with overwhelming fondness.
“That was like a fairytale, the whole thing,” Laxon said.
“I look back now and think, ‘how the hell did that ever happen?’. It just all fell into place. It was an awesome time of my life.”
Laxon is excited to train at the Sunshine Coast with John Symons. She hopes to discover her next top-notch horse. Knight's Choice was victorious at the Winx Guineas during the Brisbane winter carnival. Despite Hong Kong's multi-million dollar offers, his owners declined and relished in simply owning a lovely horse.
The 4YO will have his best opportunity yet to prove them right when he competes in the Filante Handicap at Randwick this Saturday. A win is almost necessary to secure a spot in the A$10 million Golden Eagle.
“I’d like to think he could win, that’s probably being a bit optimistic,” Laxon said.
“But we’ve got him in the Golden Eagle, that’s the big cherry at the end of the line.
“If he doesn’t, there are other options for him, but it would be really super to see him be able to run in a race like the Golden Eagle.”
After the Winx Guineas, Knight's Choice only raced once. Unfortunately, he finished unplaced behind Airman over a 1200m distance at Randwick last month. However, Laxon found hope in his strong finishing sectionals and his performance on the training track since then.
“He was in the barriers for a little while and he dawdled out, he didn’t jump and run, but his final sectionals were just a shade under the winner’s so had he jumped on par, he would have been right in it I think,” Laxon said.
“He has just kept improving and improving.
“He galloped with one of Bjorn Baker’s the other day, they had an E-Trakka on (heart rate, stride and speed monitor) and they ran almost race times.
“Lucky they had the E-Trakker on because when he came back in he wasn’t even blowing and I thought, ‘I don’t know if they’ve done enough,’ and then of course the sectional times they had run were good.”
This weekend, Knight's Choice will be without Jayden Lloyd, who has ridden with the horse in the past three races. Nonetheless, trainer Laxon wasted no time in finding a replacement and has booked the Sydney-based jockey Zac, who also happens to be Lloyd's brother.
Knight's Choice has already received backing in the early market, with online betting sites shortening their opening odds of A$15 to A$9.50. However, the favorite for the race is the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Unspoken, currently priced at A$2.80.