-
Atomic Force, ridden by Australian jockey Nash Rawiller - Source: Getty Images -
Related
All the honours were with top Australian sprinter Atomic Force when he blitzed his rivals to win the $200,000 Blandford Lodge Railway Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie today.
Despite making a mess of the start Atomic Force proved dominant in the closing stages of the Group 1 feature and ran out a commanding winner from The Hombre and Twilight Savings.
Atomic Force started favourite on the strength of his outstanding Australian form which included a Group 1 success in the Galaxy Handicap in Sydney.
The six-year-old gelding relished the rain-affected track conditions and even having the topweight of 58kg was not enough to prevent him from winning.
Atomic Force was ridden by Australain jockey Nash Rawiller and has now won 11 of his 36 starts.
Atomic Force became the second Australian-trained winner of the Railway Stakes in the past three years following the success of A Gold Trail two years earlier.
New South Wales trainer Darren Smith said Atomic Force could stay in New Zealand to tackle the Group 1 Telegraph Handicap at Trentham later this month.
"We knew the horse was 110 per cent going into the race today," said Smith.
"The heavy track was perfect for him as were the conditions of the race," Smith said.
Another feature at the meeting, the Group 2 $100,000 City Of Auckland Cup, was won by Graham Richardson-trained Single Minded who continued a purple patch of form.
