Imported Award Season resumed normal service at Warwick Farm on Saturday with a workmanlike win resulting from a typical Jim Cassidy ride.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Newcastle trainer Kris Lees had taken Award Season to Victoria and the rich Mornington Cup over 2400m on February 13 after three wins in NSW including Warwick Farm and Canterbury.
Award Season was only sixth after a tough run at Mornington but on Saturday Cassidy settled the five-year-old in a perfect spot fourth one off the rails.
In doing so he boxed in Tremec and Christian Reith on the rails and tracked the leader Urban Explorer and Peter Robl, with Tunes and Kerrin McEvoy sitting on the outside in second.
The order stayed the same until McEvoy started to urge Tunes along with 600m to run.
Cassidy was alert to the move and eased three wide as Tunes took over as they entered the main straight.
Award Season took over the running with ease but did find a lot under pressure and had only a neck advantage on the line over Tremec who had been left flat footed on the rails when the others picked up the speed.
Tremec finished strongly in the last 50m for second ahead of Tunes with the margin 3/4L.
“A nice win and he got the right ride. I suppose that coming to the turn he was going to win more comfortably than what he did,” said Lees.
“I have been pretty kind to him after when he came back from Mornington, so just if he has come to the end of it or there is room for improvement we will just see how he comes through it.
“We will see how he comes through as to if he is ready to take on a better grade or not,” he said.
Lees said that his present thinking was that Award Season was a step below spring Cups standard but there were still a lot of options for the stayer including races such as the Newcastle Cup on his home track and The Metropolitan at Randwick.
“There are plenty of nice Cups and that might be his level, but either way he is a nice Saturday horse. It is nice to win any Saturday horse and he has done a great job,” he said.
“These mile and quarter races here are won between the 800m and 600m here if you miss the boat you run second and if you are in play you are hard to beat,” said Cassidy.
John Thompson, trainer of Tremec, said that the four-year-old gelding would proceed down a path towards the G1 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick on April 20.
