Stokes sets sights on more Sydney success to cap memorable season

Victorian trainer Phillip Stokes hopes an inside draw and light weight will help I Am Velvet give him a third feature win in NSW to cap a breakthrough season on Saturday at Rosehill.

I Am Velvet was first emergency for the listed Winter Challenge (1500m) but has easily gained a start after three scratchings. Stokes had the four-year-old mare also entered for Flemington on Saturday and Sandown next Wednesday but has opted to send her to Rosehill, where he scored a first Sydney feature in February when Stretan Ruler dominated the group 2 Silver Slipper.

Stokes later claimed the $500,000 The Coast at Gosford with Athanatos in a season also including victory in the group 1 South Australia Derby with Wigmore.

“We’ve targeted Sydney a bit and had some luck, so it’s been really good and something we want to do more of,” Stokes said.

“We’d love to finish it off with another win, and we just need a couple more to get 100 winners for the season. It’s been a good one, we won a group 1 and had quite a few horses that have had stakes wins.”

I Am Velvet was $34 (TAB) for the Winter Challenge after finishing fifth in a 1400m benchmark 74 handicap on a heavy 9 Sandown-Lakeside track last start. That was the five-time winner’s first race on heavy going, and she battled on well after being caught wide throughout from a poor gate.

She likely faces a similar surface at Rosehill, which was rated a heavy 9 on Friday, but this time she has gate one and only 54 kilograms, down from 59.5kg. Her soft track record is two wins and two placings from five attempts.

“We’re trying to get a bit of black type with her,” Stokes said.

“She’s very temperamental, but she travelled up well and she’s rock-hard fit. She’s as good as we can have her, so hopefully she runs a race.

“She goes good on soft ground and has a good barrier. I’m not sure what to make of the race. When I saw the market come out, I thought ‘she’s got no hope’, but I think she has.

“She ran well up there before and ran into one of [Chris] Waller’s better ones [Frosty Girl] on the Kensington track, but she acquitted herself well that day. She used to hang very badly, but she’s not doing it as badly now.”

Stokes said Stretan Ruler was likely to return to Rosehill in the spring to target the Golden Rose (September 26), while Athanatos would be set for the $2 million Five Diamonds (November 7).

ATC close to stable decision

The Australian Turf Club is set to decide the new tenant of the Leilani Lodge stables at Randwick next week after making a shortlist of three from six applicants.

The High Street stables established by Bart Cummings in the early 1980s have been vacant since March last year when the legendary trainer’s son, Anthony, lost his licence and was evicted. Ciaron Maher won the race to secure the stables and took over the lease in late April this year, but he is instead moving his NSW headquarters to Racing NSW-acquired Crown Lodge at Warwick Farm, sparking another expression of interest process for Leilani Lodge.

Maher edged out the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable in the final stage of last year’s application process, making the Tulloch Lodge team the logical choice to gain the 65-box complex this time. Michael Freedman is believed to be another strong candidate.

Wadick hunts win with new attitude

Zac Wadick laments not having the mindset and attitude he has now when he was chasing the Sydney apprentices’ premiership last season.

The 23-year-old has moved on though and wants to make the most of his opportunities as he prepares for the switch into the senior ranks in late September.

Wadick, who heads to Rosehill chasing a first city win of the season, led the race for the 2024-25 apprentices’ title while with Brad Widdup before finishing with 21 winners, 19 behind winner Braith Nock. He has been with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable this season, riding mainly on the provincial and country circuits to secure 27 wins.

“I took it for granted a little bit when I was with Brad because it was only me, Molly [Bourke] and Ben [Osmond], and I was leading before Braith started riding in town,” Wadick said of the Sydney apprentice ranks.

“I took it for granted and didn’t really do a lot outside of riding trackwork and race riding.

“From then to now, I put a lot more work into my body, my fitness, and I’m always trying to improve.

“I’m coming to the end of my apprenticeship, so I’m just trying to get myself to my best and I think I’m definitely more dedicated now than I ever was, even though I’m not riding nearly as much, which is a shame. I wish I had the same mindset a year ago.”

Wadick hopes to go one better on Cormac T ($7.50) in the fifth at Rosehill on Saturday. The two-kilogram apprentice produced a front-running ride on the Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained Cormac T last start in a half-length second to Anythink Goes over 2000m. It was the six-year-old’s best finish in a year and the combination head to a 2400m race in the same grade with gate five.

“It was surprising how well it ran last start,” he said.

“It’s had a long prep, but I think with the light weight and a nice run in front, it put in a really good effort. I think it would be a good idea to stick to the same tactics … and he only goes up half a kilo.

“He jumped so well and I had to let him roll forward until he found his spot, and it ended up being in front. I think keeping him in his comfort zone is probably going to be his biggest advantage.”

He also rides Pokerjack ($23) for Tash Burleigh in the last.

“He was just stuck three wide on speed last start [when fifth], so it was a tough run,” he said.

“He hasn’t got a nice draw again, so hopefully the complexion of the race pans out differently for him. He’s a go-forward horse so hopefully we can find a nice spot.”

Wadick was grateful for the support of Waterhouse and Bott.

“They have a big stable with a bit of pressure on them, but they’ve still found a way to look after me,” he said.

“I wasn’t exactly in form when I came to them, but they got me back up and going. Gai’s been giving me heaps of support, off the track as well with advice.

“I come to the end of my time at the end of September and they have already talked to me about how they are going to look after me.”