Winning Horse: Declares War (Aus)

5yoG Declaration Of War (USA) - Kristeva (Aus)(Encosta De Lago (Aus))

27 starts - 8 wins 2 seconds 4 thirds $536620

Black Type Wins

1st LR Morphettville Holdfast Insurance B'day Cup 2040m (2021)

Other Wins

1st Wangaratta Winsec Wangaratta Cup 2000m (2021)

1st Camperdown Sungold Milk Camperdown Cup 1600m (2021)

1st Flemington The Mahogany Challenge Hcp 2000m (2019)

1st Flemington Vrc Schools Program (Bm70) 1720m (2018)

1st Moonee Valley Dynamic Welding (Bm64) 1500m (2018)

1st Sandown-Lakeside The Big Screen Company Mdn 1400m (2018)

Race Result:

1st: Declares War (Patrick Moloney/Matt Cumani) - $7

2nd: Haky (Ben Allen/Archie Alexander) - $11
3rd: Hypnos (Teodore Nugent/Roger James & Robert Wellwood) - $2.90F

Winning Time: 2:05.29 Last 600m: 3x.xx

Margins: Neck x Long Neck

Winning Trainer: Matt Cumani

Winning Jockey: Pat Maloney

“I was confident without being confident because he has been up for a while. Things didn’t work his way in the Warrnambool Cup when I got poleaxed by Heart Of Puissance. He’s one of those horses who prefers to be on the outside of horses and building momentum.

“When I asked him for a sit and sprint the other day, he wasn’t going good enough and he got in trouble because of that. Matt and I mapped out a plan pre-race to be positive and take up the lead as long as we don’t have to burn ourselves too much.

“We controlled the race at our own tempo and a horse coming back in trip and having plenty of runs. He doesn’t have a great turn of acceleration but with having had plenty of runs this prep I was happy to take off a little but earlier on him.

“They were at me pretty much from the 300 metre mark. It’s the type of conditions out there, you’ve got the headwind, the Soft 7 in the straight to deal with. He held his gallop strong.”

On the track: “I walked it after the last straight race and there’s no difference really. I find it a lot harder coming off the back of them when there is a headbreeze. I was happy to lead because we had the wind at our back until we got into the straight.”