Four-year-old gelding Rising returned to the winner’s enclosure for the second time in five career starts thanks to a devastating front-running performance at Ballarat.
The Phoenix Thoroughbreds’ homebred would be forgiven in thinking he was the only horse in the race as he would not have seen another rival in the 1400m contest. Raced in partnership with Widden Stud, a combination of a step up in trip and a move away from softer surfaces seemed to work the oracle as he produced a career-best display.
Breaking well under jockey John Allen, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trainee was soon in the lead controlling the pace. The son of I Am Invincible ticked off the fractions while always looking comfortable in the lead. As the field turned towards home, it became apparent that a few lagging rivals were already sending out distress signals. Into the straight, Allen gave Rising his head and the pair started to move away from the pack with some ease. The further they went, the more the distance grew and they ran out seven-length winners.
“He’s probably knocking on the door of City class now he’s come back a gelding and more focused,” co-trainer David Eustace told Racing.com. “Hopefully, he builds a bit of confidence from that performance and he’s entitled to go for a Wednesday race and run well in one of those. He’ll take a lot of confidence from that and should improve again.”
"Rising home in the last by about eight lengths." 😳
A demolition job in the final event as @Sultan_Racing nails his best of the day 🔥@cmaherracing @JohnnyA_24 pic.twitter.com/9B17zyVDMQ
— Racing.com (@Racing) August 30, 2022