Holymanz (NZ) (Almanzor) and Precious Charm (Per Incanto) shared Werribee Cup honours on Sunday after a dramatic dead-heat finish – the first in the race’s history.
Ridden by Ben Allen, Holymanz started a $3.90 favourite after a strong Cranbourne Cup placing second-up. But he was badly held up for most of the 1600-metre contest and looked in trouble as the field fanned for home.
There were chances everywhere. Craig Weeding’s Indispensable ($71) loomed on the inside after saving ground, while Precious Charm and Harry Coffey charged down the outside. At the same time, Holymanz finally saw daylight and surged late, setting up a thrilling finish.
But the judge couldn’t separate the pair.
Symon Wilde’s stable representative Ben Casanelia admitted he thought Precious Charm had been beaten and was pleasantly surprised when the dead-heat was confirmed. With her first Stakes win secured and her versatile profile, options abound for the mare.
“Watching the vision in the room there, it looked like she’d got rolled,” he said.
“Her best was really good, and she was in A1 order today. The feeling was she’d run a race, the barrier was a bit of a curveball.
“She’s tough, out to 2000m might be an option. She seems to go good if she’s fresh over the shorter trips, so she’s got a few strings to her bow.
“To dead-heat the Werribee Cup, fantastic.”
Bred by Olly and Annabel Tuthill’s Beaufort Downs, Precious Charm is by Little Avondale Stud’s high-class stallion Per Incanto out of the High Chaparral mare Highly Valued, herself a daughter of a stakes-placed sister to Showcasing.
The well-related filly was purchased from the Rangiora nursery for $80,000 at the 2021 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale by Wilde Racing in conjunction with John White Bloodstock and Dave Mee’s Pinhook Bloodstock.
For Holymanz, the shared victory was a reward for consistency. Last in the winner’s circle in January’s Listed Coastal Classic at Geelong, the gelding never fails to put in a shift and now has another feature to his name – even if it’s one to share.
Holymanz races in the colours of Brendan and Jo Lindsay, who stand the five-year-old’s sire Almanzor at Cambridge Stus who purchased Holymanz for A$400,000 as a yearling in Sydney in conjunction with Nicolas de Chambure of Haras d’Etreham. He was offered by Lime Country Thoroughbreds on behalf of breeder Jamieson Park.
Holymanz will next be aimed at a third consecutive Coastal Classic title, a race of which he is the sole winner so far.