Jockey Jamie Kah was moved to tears after guiding Cylinder to an emotional win in the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington on Saturday.
It was the second successive win in the Group 1 feature handicap over 1200m for the ‘Royal Blue’ colours of Godolphin after In Secret took out the race last year.
Kah was to have ridden that filly in last year’s race, but a fall in the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes earlier in the day sent the jockey to hospital where she battled concussion and other injuries.
The ride went to Dean Holland who gave a faultless display on the filly, but tragically, just over a month later, he died in a race fall at Donald.
Kah brought up a race-to-race double for Godolphin aboard Cylinder having taken out the Group 2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) on Traffic Warden.
“I thought I was a tough person, but I’m not today,” Kah said.
“This is for Dean Holland. I couldn’t imagine anyone riding that horse as well as he did last year and hopefully, he is watching down on us today.
“Today has been amazing and for Godolphin, they have always supported me.
“It is great to get over last year and start again and I don’t think any day will top today.
“I think in the last 100 metres I nearly stopped and started crying.
“I can’t really remember it.”
Coming widest down the Flemington straight 1200m course, Cylinder ($11) scored by 1-¼ lengths from the bookie sites $2.80 favourite Imperatriz with The Astrologist ($101) a neck away third.
Speaking from Sydney following Saturday’s win, trainer James Cummings said the victory was an important win for the Godolphin operation.
Cylinder is a son of Exceed And Excel which announced earlier in the week that he had been retired from stud duties.
“It is with great sadness that we retired Exceed And Excel from the roster this week and amazing that in the same week one champion exits the stage and potentially the next potential champion stallion joins the roster,” Cummings said.
“He’s a very interesting horse, Cylinder.
“He’s by Exceed and Excel who won a Newmarket and had over 200 Stakes (winners) with an amazing career as a stallion.
“He was the first horse that Sheik Mohammad bought in Australia, his first really big move into this country with Darley at the time.
“Now we’ve got Cylinder who is by that horse, from the family of Lonhro and he’s out of a Street Cry mare so he’s got it all and what he didn’t yet have was a Group 1.
“Things just hadn’t gone his way and now he’s got the Newmarket to his name.
“That is a huge result for the farm, and he just had them covered a long way out.
“I love the fact that good horses were in the race and that just underlines the form and he powered away from them.”