Hartnell throws down a challenge with G1 Turnbull win

Hartnell has established himself as the standout challenger to the queen of Australian racing with a superb victory in the G1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on Sunday, October 2 that completed a stellar weekend for Godolphin’s Australian team.

In a repeat of the form that carried him to outstanding wins in Sydney at his previous two starts, Hartnell (John O’Shea/James McDonald) dominated a high-class field to defeat Jameka by three-and-a-quarter lengths.

The winner’s stablemate Tally (John O’Shea/Brenton Avdulla) finished a brave third, the same distance away.

In a performance that suggested he is capable of giving 2015 Cox Plate champion and Australian Horse of the Year, Winx, a race wherever they may meet, Hartnell had his opposition covered at the 600m mark when McDonald eased him away from his two-wide trailing position.

From that point the race turned into a procession, leaving the only question now to be answered as “where to next?”.

“He’ll be competitive in anything he runs in,” O’Shea said.

“We have a few options which will be discussed among the team over the next few days.

“That was what we wanted to see, it is a tribute to a great team effort.”

The immediate choices confronting the Godolphin team are the G1 Caulfield Cup run on October 15th or the G1 WS Cox Plate a week later.

Beyond that is the A$6m G1 Melbourne Cup over a 3200m trip at which the six-year-old has won at Royal Ascot.

While Hartnell possessed a useful record in the UK, he has improved it considerably since coming to Australia where he has now won two G1 races.

But the greatest improvement has come in the past 12 months.

“It’s largely due to me learning about him and getting him right mentally,” O’Shea said.

“We started him off at 1400m this time and got him rolling along. It seems to have got him settled and happy.”

McDonald endorsed the trainer’s view.

“This time around he’s calmer, his attitude is 100 per cent better. He used to be jigging around and nervy, now he’s conserving all his energy for his races,” McDonald said.

Hartnell’s Turnbull Stakes win completed a G1 double for the weekend for Godolphin, O’Shea and McDonald who combined to win the Epsom Handicap at Randwick a day earlier.

It also took Godolphin’s weekend tally in Australia to eight wins, four of them in Stakes races.

And it continued an amazing run of success for the stable which has won at least one Group race on each of the past seven weekends in Australia.

While most attention was on Hartnell, the effort of Tally to finish third after racing outside the lead and into a crushing headwind deserved credit.

The winner of four races on end last summer and the third placegetter in the G1 ATC Derby in the Autumn, Tally is another possible Caulfield Cup starter.