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West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
No substitute for class: Western Empire overcomes setback to score last-gasp success in Hyperion Stakes
Western Empire showed a setback means nothing to a superstar, storming to success in the Group 3 $200,000 PKF Perth Hyperion Stakes (1600m) at Pinjarra. Ruled out of last week's Belmont Sprint with a hoof abscess, punters tread warily around the $3.70 TABtouch second favourite with Magnificent Andy ($2.70f) a resounding elect. While Magnificent Andy found a glorious trail in third place tagging leaders Comfort Me ($31) and Searchin' Roc's ($81), Western Empire was stranded three wide in eighth place and seven lengths from the front. Cornering for home, Brad Parnham eased Magnificent Andy to the outside and by the 300m, the chestnut moved effortlessly to the lead. Forced wide, Western Empire began to build momentum but still had lots on his plate approaching the 200m. Over the final furlong, William Pike sent the Group 1 winner into overdrive, and they gradually began to chip back the margin on Stephen Miller's charge. Only in the final strides did Western Empire pick up Magnificent Andy, with the courageous runner-up registering his third consecutive second-place finish. Co-trainer Grant Williams lauded the constitution of his seven-year-old to overcome the ailment ruling him out of the May 28 clash. 'We love this horse. He's put in two bad runs over 1200m and all the experts, they write him off after that and we get nearly $4 because he's the lay of the day,' he said. 'At the end of the day, there's only a couple of Group 1 winners in this field which means they're quality, and that's what he is. 'We gallop them up hills, he's done plenty of work. He had that foot and to be honest with you, it still wasn't that great yesterday, but he was sound on it. 'He was three deep no cover and hit the line good. What else can I say? I can't talk highly enough of this horse.' The son of Iffraaj has regathered his mojo since rejoining Grant and Alana Williams' stable last year with affection proving the winning ingredient. 'He just needed to be loved again. He wasn't loved for a few years and they're not machines; some of them need to be treated differently,' Williams said. 'He does, he just needs to be treated differently. But what he's got is a huge motor and he's got Alana, that's a start. 'We'll never go to 1200m again. We learned trying to be heroes, reading papers, we learned our lesson there. 'We thought it was easy winning at 1200m. It's not. He's not a 1200m horse. 'He's a 1400m to maybe 2000m. We might even have a little dip at the Strickland. We might have to put some earmuffs or something on him.' It is hoped the Strickland Stakes (2000m) will be run in two weeks' time at Belmont. Western Empire's strength over the late stages of the contest favour a return to 2000m, with William Pike suggesting his run never threatened to wilt. 'He was very brave out there today. I got the short straw early; I thought I was in, and I wasn't,' Pike said. 'It wasn't the end of the world. I was in such a good rhythm; I was okay with that. 'The part I thought was my undoing was when we got carted pretty wide on straightening. 'I thought that was one mountain too high to climb but he just didn't fade on his run all the way to the line. He had every excuse to peak but he just didn't. 'All I tried to do was not ask too much too early hoping that he was still there for me late, and he was.'
West Australian
4 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Magnificent Andy predicted by punters to become only the fourth dual winner of the Hyperion Stakes
Magnificent Andy is in line to join a select group of dual Hyperion Stakes winners when the hardy gelding contests the $200,000 Group 3 feature at Pinjarra. Only Cambana Lad (1974, 1975), Heron Bridge (1984, 1986) and Marasco (2008, 2010) have been repeat winners of the event, though Magnificent Andy would become the first since it was changed to be a 1600m contest. The chestnut has firmed to $2.90 TABtouch favouritism and his regular jockey Brad Parnham eagerly awaits the clash. 'I'm obviously pretty confident going into the race. His runs of recent times have been really great, and he gives 100 percent every time,' Parnham told TABradio. 'The last two starts, we've drawn awkward and have been caught wide. 'The other day, I managed to get across, but I rode him a little closer than I would've if I'd drawn a gate. 'Now we're up to a mile and we're drawn a good gate, I can probably position him where I want. 'I give him quite a big chance to go back to back.' A one-length fourth to Jokers Grin in The Quokka, Magnificent Andy has followed that performance with valiant runner-up performances in both the Northam Stakes and Belmont Sprint. Despite having 37 starts under his belt, the six-year-old has only raced over 1600m twice in his career for last year's Hyperion victory and a later fourth in the Railway Stakes. 'He's very strong at 1400m but think he's the sort of horse who might be better at the mile,' Parnham said. 'His effort last start was great. He got challenged by West Star and he started to pull him back and managed to get in front. 'To me, it seemed like The Boss Lady's turn of foot was a bit too sharp for him and she was able to get over the top of him. 'I think he's developed into that horse that's better at a mile. We'll see what he can do but he should be going very close.' His main rival could be $3.10 second fancy Western Empire, who missed the Belmont Sprint with a hoof abscess. 'It's still a bit of an ask going from 1200m to a mile but I'm pretty happy with how he is,' his co-trainer Grant Williams told SEN. 'We got to put in an extra couple of gallops. I would've liked one more, but he had a really good hit-out on Wednesday.' Williams also prepares $12 fourth fancy Hemlock Stone who he suggests will belie the maligned 'second-up syndrome', a metaphorical condition where horses underperform at their second start for a preparation after impressing at their first. 'I have got that in the back of my head about second-up syndrome because he's a stayer but generally we don't have that in our stable,' he said. 'Our stable, they generally bounce through the first one and their second one's a good run.'
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Williams stable celebrate whopping $1.1 million Alsephina sale ahead of Western Empire's Belmont Sprint tilt
Grant and Alana Williams have a chance to cap an already remarkable week with Western Empire in Pinjarra's transferred Group 3 $200,000 Belmont Sprint (1400m). On Tuesday, the Williams' bonny mare Alsephina sold for $1.1 million to Katsumi Yoshida of Japan at the Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, ending her whirlwind tenure for the husband-wife training duo. Her sale price almost matched her deeds on the track, retiring with stakes of over $1.1 million after running in March's Group 1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill. ' Ï thought she could make $1 million. The reserve was a lot lower, but I said to them, 'put a realistic, conservative reserve on her and get her on the market' and the market took care of the rest,' her consigner Julian Blaxland said. 'She's a beautiful mare, great physical and she rated really well with all the ratings guys. She was a proper mare, she might have only been a Group 2 winner, but she was certainly Group 1 calibre.' Despite the excitement, Grant Williams remains all business at the stable's Karnup property to ready Western Empire for the Belmont Sprint. After the latter half of Belmont's Saturday fixture was postponed due to track issues, Williams had to take evasive action to ensure the gelding's preparation was spot on. 'On Sundays, every horse in our place has the day off,' Williams told TABradio. 'They have a light day on the Friday and just go on the water walker, so we couldn't afford to give them an easy day Saturday as well. 'We galloped a few of those horses that weren't able to race on Saturday, on Sunday. 'We took him to the old hill on Sunday just for a change and he worked really good. '(Alana) is happy with him, so that's good enough for me.' A $4.20 TABtouch second elect trailing favourite West Star ($3), Western Empire is awkwardly drawn in gate 14 but will be suited to the rise to 1400m. 'We'll still be three deep with cover at some stage,' Williams said. 'Belmont does suit the horse; it's a big open track. It's not ideal (to be at Pinjarra), but at least we're going around. 'The only way we could be at 1200m again (like last start) would be because we needed a run or something like that. 'That won't happen again and we'll change our course next time, and go back to the longer races.' The son of Iffraaj is the defending champion of the Belmont Sprint having beaten Searchin' Roc's by a nose last year. He went on to run in the Hyperion and Strickland Stakes (1600m and 2000m) subsequent to that run, with Williams indicating that may again be the case. This Saturday's Belmont meeting has also been shifted to Pinjarra with further extensive testing commissioned to external consultants Ground Science and Living Turf, who will analyse both the surface of the track and soil and sand profiles beneath.
