Deprive not to be denied in G3 Show County

The Randwick specialist Deprive survived in a tight finish to the G3 Show County Quality to keep the flow of Stakes winners coming for Godolphin in Australia on Saturday, 24 August.

The win was the fifth for Deprive at Randwick and the gelding’s seventh overall.

On a day when some of the stars of the Australian team, and one of the newcomers, made encouraging returns to racing Deprive took the honours with the most significant success of his career.

Given a perfect run by Rachel King, Deprive took an opening that presented at the 250m, dashed clear and then held on to score in by a centimetre from Trope whose connections demanded to view the photo finish print.

King declared Deprive to have G1 potential, and trainer James Cummings wasn’t disagreeing, suggesting the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield could be a suitable goal.

"We're tempted to try him in something in Melbourne like the Sir Rupert Clarke," trainer James Cummings said.

"He vindicated a couple of really solid performances in the winter. He's still winning at Randwick." 

"It was a nailbiter. Trope is a pretty capable galloper with an impossible finish. We're honoured and a little flattered to have beaten him."

"Rachel was really confident in Deprive though, and he has a really good winning attitude."

Deprive’s win was the fifth at Stakes level for the Cummings team in the first month of the new season, continuing the momentum established in 2018-19 when the stable won an Australian record 62 Stakes races.

While Deprive was the only graded winner for the day, the first-up effort of Flit to finish second to Libertini in the G2 Darley Silver Shadow Stakes suggested she would soon be a winner.

Also catching the eye was the multiple G1 winner Avilius who steamed home for fourth in the G1 Winx Stakes, and Cascadian who found the 1200m of the Show County too short, flashing home from the tail of the field to finish fifth to Deprive at his first start since shipping from France.