Caballus stakes Group 1 claims in style

By Danny Matthews (Racing & Sports)

Sydney-based Bjorn Baker sent his talented sprinter north to hunt summertime success and Caballus' class was on full display in taking out the Group 3 George Moore Stakes at Doomben.

The three-length victory was impressive and saw punters who snapped up the starting price of $5.50 or better for Caballus on excellent terms with Melbourne Cup Carnival form flowing through to the 1200-metre early December feature.

Ridden by Tommy Berry, the winning time of 1:07.95 was 0.12 seconds shy of the 1200m course record held by Jonker in 2020.

"It didn't work out exactly the way we envisaged," stable representative Jim Clarke said.

"I think Tommy wanted to follow a couple (of runners) but he jumped well and found the lead fairly easily.

"He won at Flemington during the carnival and I think Bjorn has pretty big aspirations for him possibly in the autumn and back here in the winter.

"Maybe even a race like the Stradbroke would be ideal for him."

"Last place we expected to be was in the lead up you've got to ride the horse the way he jumps," Tommy Berry said.

"He flew the gates and I thought there'd be a lot more speed in the race but I think the others were having a bit of a look at each other so I thought I might as well take it up.

"I was surprised during the week that he wasn't favourite. He was the best horse in the race."

Tony Gollan's recent recruit Pereille ($9) fought out the minor placings with winter carnival winner Cosmic Fire ($14).

Unlike Caballus' relatively easy win, talented Grafterburners ($1.65 fav) had his nose down on the line at the right moment in the Pierata Plate (1200m) for three-year-olds.

Trainer Kelly Schweida is undecided whether to point the son of Graff towards the $3 million slot race The Sunlight (1100m) at Gold Coast on January 10, or to stay in Brisbane for the Group 3 Vo Rogue Plate (1350m) on December 27.