Krone up to next Sydney challenge

By Jordan Gerrans

Krone went to a new level in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic and the Queensland-trained mare has gone from strength to strength since.

That is the assessment from top Sydney hoop Tim Clark ahead of Saturday’s 1500-metre Group 2 Emancipation Stakes, where Krone aims to make it four wins on the bounce at Rosehill.

With premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan remaining in Queensland due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Clark’s role has been extra important this week, riding the five-year-old mare in work on Tuesday morning.

While the Clark and Gollan combination have not had a lot of luck together over the years, the top hoop says they now have the monkey off their back and they can finish the Autumn carnival just as well as they started together.

Having to carry 57kgs in the Coolmore last month, Clark thought Krone would need to raise the bar on her previous performances and was glad she was able to on the big stage.

“She won really well on that occasion, in the Guy Walter, and I felt there would be natural progression to the Coolmore, where she had her fair share of weight considering she was not a Group 1 winner before that,” Clark said.

“I thought she went to a new level in the Coolmore, in the style that she won.

“She seems to be going from strength to strength.”

The punters believe Krone is every chance to score again on Saturday with the TAB on Wednesday reporting the gun Queenslander opened as a $4.60 'Final Field' favourite but was quickly backed into $3.70 in the Rosehill feature.

She was further crunched into $3 with the TAB on Thursday afternoon. 

The Krone tale is a special one, set to be retired just a few months ago but she stopped all thoughts about that, winning three on the trot - including the prized Group 1 Coolmore.

Clark is building his relationship with Krone, having won on her twice now, and is embracing her racing pattern, where she likes to be tucked away and able to unleash in the final 300 metres with her sharp turn of foot.

“Now that I have had a couple of goes on her, I have got more and more confidence in her that if she does get into a situation where she is held up more than ideal, I know that she still has the turn of foot to overcome the trouble,” Clark said.

“Her racing pattern, she needs some things to fall her.

 “And, also, she has that little bit of class that she can overcome a bit of adversity if she needs too.”

The well-travelled Krone has settled into life well in NSW according to Clark, who says she is thriving.

“She gets in well this Saturday,” he said.

“I rode her in a bit of work on Tuesday morning and she galloped really well.

“She seems to be going as good as she had been on her previous two wins.

“Everything points to another good run from her.”

Following Saturday’s Emancipation Stakes, Krone is likely to head towards the Group 1 Coolmore Legacy Stakes at Randwick on April 10.

The Gollan and Clark partnership looks set to get stronger, with the hoop booked for Krone and stable-mate Outback Barbie this Saturday, just seven days after riding fellow Gollan galloper Jonker.

There is also a chance Clark will pick up the ride of another Gollan gun, Isotope, with regular rider Ryan Maloney stuck in the Brisbane lockdown.

“Tim Clark is doing a good job for us down there in Sydney, he rides 54.5kg without having to ride anything over,” Gollan said earlier this week.

“I won’t make a decision as to what I’m going to do until the end of the week.”