Kovalica ends winning drought in thrilling Q22 win at Eagle Farm

Mercury

a day ago

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Prominent Queensland owner Nev Morgan never doubted Kovalica would win another race.
He just didn't know when.
But the stars aligned on Saturday and Kovalica returned to the scene of his Group 1 Queensland Derby triumph of 2023 – the last time he won a race – to score the rich Q22 (2200m).
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But it was far from an easy watch to break the long winning drought as Kovalica dived at New Endeavour on the line and no one at Eagle Farm had much of an idea who had won.
Not even Morgan, who thought he might have been narrowly beaten.
But when the judge put the winner's number up, Kovalica was in the frame.
Kovalica may have not won for a long time and he has often been a tease.
But in fairness, he has raced at a high level including tackling a Cox Plate, Melbourne Cup, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Doncaster Miles.
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'Of course I thought he would win again,' Morgan, who owns Kovalica with fellow Queenslander and great mate David Devine, said.
'Even before today, he had won $3.3m in prizemoney.
'He races in all the good races.
'I hope he could even be a Melbourne Cup horse this year, he only got beaten four lengths in the race last year.
'The maestro (Chris Waller) will work all that out.
'I didn't think this horse had won on the line today but my son-in-law said he thought he had, so I'm glad he was right.'
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Winning rider Nash Rawiller also had no idea whether Kovalica had broken the drought.
'It was a long ride back to scale, making sure that I'd got there,' Rawiller said.
'I feel like I've redeemed myself for saying he'd win the Melbourne Cup last year.
'What a horse he's been.
'We made a call during the week – as late as Tuesday morning – to put the blinkers on today.
'You could tell in the run that he was going to do something.
'I've had a bit of a shit time lately, so I feel like I've bounced right back in a big way.'
Plenty have questioned whether Kovalica would get back to the winner's stall, but not Waller and his team.
'We haven't lost faith in him and he's been a good horse without winning,' Waller said.
'It took the length of the Eagle Farm straight to get there.
'That's his first win for a couple of years. He's been working to something good.'
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Brisbane Cup win fuels Melbourne Cup aspirations for Campaldino
- Daniel Pace
Campaldino will be set for the race that stops a nation following his impressive victory in the $400,000 Group 2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The four-year-old gelding sat behind a dawdling speed early in the race before powering ahead of the pack to finish more than a length ahead of the Chris Waller-trained pair Etna Rosso ($3.70) and Manzoice ($12) to rubber-stamp his passage to the $8m Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November.
'You've got to look at that type of race for him,' said Adrian Bott, who trains in partnership with racing royalty Gai Waterhouse.
'He saw that out (3200m trip) strongly. Obviously we didn't make any grand plans before today but that (Melbourne Cup) is always in the back of your mind.
'We just wanted to get through this campaign first and he's done an excellent job.
'We were only focused on this campaign but now's the time to go back and analyse what path we take to the Cup.'
In a nice twist of fate, Campaldino used to share a trackwork tie-up row with Pier, the winner of the earlier The Wayne Wilson over a mile, in Matamata, New Zealand.
'He's an amazing, progressive horse,' Bott said.
'He's come a long way and that tops off the campaign nicely. He can't have too long off but he's had some nice conditioning this preparation and we'll try and work backwards from the Melbourne Cup.
'He's still learning what it is all about. Even when he hit the front I was worried about him getting there too early. There is still progression (to come).'
Jockey Tim Clark was back on Campaldino after guiding him to a 1¾-length victory in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Cup (2400m) on a heavy Eagle Farm track two weeks ago.
'Since the blinkers have been removed he has been much better,' Clark said.
'That has helped him be so strong at the end of his races.
'He's a pleasure to ride and another good find out of New Zealand. He has come here and really found his mojo now.
'He's shooting through the grades nicely. He's thrived with the sun on his back and he can run a strong two miles.
'When he had clean air he really dragged me forward. He had energy stored in the run and he picked up when I let him go.'
Originally published as Owner Nev Morgan's unwavering belief in Kovalica pays off with victory in Group 2 Q22 at Eagle Farm