RED TOP WINS ONCE AGAIN WHEN WELL INTO HIS PREP

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, August 16, 2023

The Tony and Maddysen Sears trained Red Top kicked off his four-year-old season in winning style, claiming the third success of his career when he took out a Class 3 Handicap over 1600m at Eagle Farm on August 16.

The son of Top Echelon’s previous win had come in the last start of his previous preparation ... also at Eagle Farm, but over 1820m. Interestingly enough, that win came seven runs into that preparation and when Red Top faced the starter for this latest assignment, he was making his sixth start in this latest preparation.

The fact that Red Top had finished runner-up in his start leading into this race 9in fact in two of his previous four starts) saw him installed as the $2.20 favourite, a little over a point shorter than Ocean Zar, who was marked up at $3.30.

Red Top landed in the lead from the number 1 barrier draw, but Andrew Mallyon, who retained the ride after piloting Red Top to both of those second-place finishes, was happy to settle in third spot early ... and then fourth when the $11 chance Kennysing launched around his field to take up the running down the back stretch.

Even then, there was no real speed on in the first half of the race during which time Mallyon kept Red Top, now racing one off the fence, at a reasonably comfortable gallop, just a little over two lengths off the leader.

Mallyon basically kept Red Top in a watching brief until the home turn where, after cornering three wide, he straightening the Sears trained runner with an uninterrupted ruin to the line.

It was never going to be an easy sprint home coming off that slow speed, but Red Top stuck to his task, firstly under hands and heals from Mallyon ... and then with a little more persuasion between the 200m and 100m marks ... eventually getting to the lead with 100m left to run ... but he still had to stay strong to the line as all but one the balance of the seven horse field swarmed all around him, challenging for the honours.

Red Top was resolute, and he held his advantage to the line to win by 0.55 lengths from his market rival Ocean Zar, who had tracked Red Top into the race and all the way down the straight without being able to peg back the Sears trained runner.

In the end, a little less than 1.50 lengths separated the first six runners across the line, the closeness of the result indicating how much the jockey’s judgement came into play in a race of no early speed and how big a pass mark it was for the Andrew Mallyon ride.

This win pushed Red Top’s earnings to just shy of a $250 000 from eighteen starts.

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