NUMERIAN WINS Q22

Numerian wins the Q22

If you’d have said Annabel Neasham would once again be winning the Hollindale Stakes and the Q22 you’d go straight down the path of thinking that stable star Zaaki had put on another winning performance for the New South Wales trainer. 

In this case though it is the Gosford Cup winner which has handed Neasham a second Q22 in as many years as Numerian went post to post in the Eagle Farm contest to win the $1.2m distance feature under the ride of Tommy Berry.

The win meas that Neasham remains the only winner of the race in it’s new format after winning the previous year with Zaaki.

“We nearly came via the Doomben Cup but I spoke to Richard Ryan who sent us the horse,” Neasham said of the Gosford Cup winner, who is owned by the same English-based connections as Cox Plate winner State Of Rest.

“We were very excited when he sent him over here to chase the good races and the good prizemoney, which is something we have got there.

“We raced him sparingly at the start of the prep and we kept his legs fresh for this.”

It was thought that Neasham would scoop a $200,000 bonus for connections after winning the Hollindale and Q22 in the same season. However Neasham is ineligible for the prize due to winning with two different horses.

Neasham is now confident her latest import will be heading for a bumper Spring Carnival.

“I rang Richard earlier in the week and asked how he would go on a good track, because he has form on it back home,” she said.

“He said he’d go well as long as it’s not firm, I thought it would be firm here compared to Ireland but he relished it.

“I was quite confident going into the Epsom but he got kicked that week and we had to scratch him from it.”

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