He never ceases to amaze us. Red Cadeaux, at the ripe old age of nine, continued his love affair with Australia, and for finishing runner-up, when running second in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick in the middle of the month.
Having originally planned to contest the Sydney Cup, run over two miles earlier on the card, an eleventh-hour decision to tackle the more lucrative prize over six furlongs shorter was handsomely vindicated as Red found only Criterion too strong among a stellar international field.
Partnered by Kerrin McEvoy, who took over riding duties from the already-retained Hugh Bowman, Red sat mid-division in a properly-run race, but he was shuffled back as the pace increased around the tight turns of Randwick.
It looked as though a midfield position beckoned when he was checked twice in the straight, but granted room to manoeuvre of the rain-softened ground, he powered home to take second behind Criterion, who had enjoyed a trouble free passage throughout.
The bold decision to tackle the more difficult assignment by his owner, Mr Arculli, and the fantastic preparatory work undertaken by Robin and Steve allowed Red to take his overall career earnings to within a whisker of £5million, all the while cementing his position as Australia’s favourite international son and arguably the most famous horse on the planet.
While a trip to Hong Kong two weeks later did not work out as planned, with the firm ground and sedate early gallop at Sha Tin not playing to his strengths, Red has enjoyed another magnificent winner and we are delighted to have him back at La Grange.
He holds entries at Epsom and Royal Ascot, although we will not commit to a plan for a good while yet, instead being intent to savour Red’s achievements for a little while longer.
As the photographs show, he remains in fantastic nick with our hero looking as well as ever.