Image: Bradley Photos
Sandpaper has stopped sandmate Thunderlips from claiming the Carrington Stakes.
Resilient gelding Sandpaper has claimed his second win in black type for trainer Bjorn Baker and syndicator Darby Racing, challenging all challengers to take the lead in the Listed Carrington Stakes at Randwick.
Sandpaper was beautifully judged by Nash Rawiller and heavily backed to start a $2.70 favorite and held by a long neck over stablemate Thunderlips ($14) with Provincial-Midway Championships winner Matcha Latte ($6.50) in an encouraging third.
The winner came back from a midfield effort in The Buffering (1400m) at Eagle Farm and Baker’s race manager, Luke Hilton, said they had taken positives from that effort.
“He was very strong in Brisbane. He never got any rest. They attacked him all the way with three wides and I thought he held his own and boxed very well,” Hilton said.
“Bjorn gave him that little bit of extra time between runs when he came back and he looked fantastic in the garden.
“His work during the week was great and Nash gets along well with him.”
Sandpaper capped a successful day for Rawiller, giving him a treble after previous wins aboard Promitto for David Atkins and Kingdom Undersiege for Matthew Dunn.
The experienced hooper admitted he was concerned when the challengers came down the straight at Sandpaper, but said the horse dug deep and was deceptively difficult to run down.
“He’s a tough son of a bitch,” Rawiller said.
“The way they all got to him at the top of the climb, I thought, gee, I’ve been a bit nice here.
“But I think they’re getting tired of chasing him and when he gave that kick he was just so tough and honest.
“The stablemate probably had him there on the hundred and I think they had a chat and he said, ‘mate, you’re not getting past me’. It was a good effort.”
Sandpaper has been in the works since the spring, but Hilton says they are eager to continue his campaign while he is racing so well.
It was the six-year-old’s second win since joining the stable a year ago, adding to his Group 3 success in the Newcastle Stakes (1400m) in March.
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