Golden Mile can give James Cummings farewell Group 1 win with Godolphin in Stradbroke Handicap

Daily Telegraph

2 days ago

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James Cummings believes it will be a fairytale story if Golden Mile can win this week's Stradbroke Handicap in the gelding's remarkable comeback from retirement.
And Sydney trainer Cummings is confident that Golden Mile will handle the seven-day back-up following his third placing in last Saturday's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm, with Jason Collett on board.
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Golden Mile was briefly stood for $16,500 at Sheikh Mohammed's Northwood Park Victorian base last season but he was injured after covering 14 mares.
He was then retired from stud duty and gelded, returning to the racetrack in the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) at Randwick on March 1 when he finished sixth, 3¼ lengths behind Iowna Merc.
Cummings isn't interested in talk about the Stradbroke being one of the weakest fields in many years – he just wants to win Queensland's premier race for the first time since 2019 (Trekking) in his final season with powerhouse stable Godolphin.
It was announced late last month that Cummings and Godolphin would split at the end of July after an eight-year partnership, with the Dubai-based stable to adopt a public training model.
Golden Mile (second from left) will back-up in the Stradbroke Handicap after just missing in the Kingsford Smith Cup. Picture: Trackside Photography
'I always say try and win it,' Cummings said of the 1400m Stradbroke.
'It'd be a great story for Golden Mile, who has come back from stud duties and he's been warming to a win.
'If he can get that in this prep in the Stradbroke, that'd be some feat to pull off and all the accolades would go to Golden Mile himself.
'I wouldn't seek to diminish the depth of the field at all and I haven't seen the final field either.
'What I would say is that good Group 1 weight-for-age form should be golden form.'
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And Golden Mile certainly has that form after finishing a fraction behind superstar mare Joliestar and Zarastro in a thrilling Kingsford Smith Cup.
'He was excellent and he's been building up to that,' Cummings said.
'A bit over a month ago he screamed home for third in the (Group 2) Victory Stakes and that had him back in the form he was 12 months ago, just prior to him going to stud.
'It's been a slow burn to get him up to where he is now but to give a sight in a Group 1 against Joliestar and to defeat some very good Group 1 sprinters in his final lead-up run to the Stradbroke, where he drops to 53.5 kilos, is a very good recipe.
'He should be an even better horse out to 1400m, a little bit further under the handicap conditions that we'll see this week.'
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Collett will again ride Golden Mile in the $3m Stradbroke at Eagle Farm, just seven days after the gelding's massive run on a soft track at the same venue.
'I've never backed him up before,' Cummings revealed about the 2022 Caulfield Guineas winner.
'I've pushed him in the past to go another run and he's rewarded us because he's a very tough horse.
'While I've never done it before, I was drawn to the idea to persevere with that program for the Stradbroke.
'I'd say I'd be confident, without having done it before, that he would be the type of horse who would relish the back-up.'
Originally published as Comeback star Golden Mile can give James Cummings farewell Group 1 win with Godolphin in Stradbroke Handicap