Awesome Anamoe finally ‘explosive’ in the Chipping Norton

McDonald had to bide his time on Anamoe coming to the turn, he had allowed him to be close enough without putting him under pressure. But he knew there was something different about Anamoe going to the gate.

“He was just a real lad in the gates. I had Hinged next to me, it was just sparking up on him a little bit being in there for a little while, not too long, but just enough to get him a little bit agitated being a stallion,” McDonald said.

“He came out [of the gates] skew-whiff and it actually helped him because it got us in the perfect position.

“They went hard and he just travelled and gave a great feel and confidence. He was curled up and exploded today, so he was wicked.”

Earlier at Randwick, tiny Sunshine In Paris shot through late and got her head down on the line to become a group 1 winner in the Surround Stakes in a thrilling four-way photo finish.

There was only a short half head, a half head and another short half head between Sunshine In Paris, Ruthless Dame, In Secret and Zougotcha. All had looked the winner in the last 50 metres.

“Just seeing them fight out the finish like that was unbelievable,” Sunshine In Paris’s trainer Annabel Neasham said. “I stood with David Eustace, good mates of mine, and he thought he’d got it [with Ruthless Dame]. I don’t think anyone noticed her, she’s so small. It was unbelievable.”

It was Neasham’s eighth group 1 win, and first with a horse that she has had for its entire career.

Ryan Maloney had ridden the perfect race on Sunshine In Paris to the 200m mark and had a handful of horse and just had to find a gap, which came between Zougotcha and Ruthless Dame, which had been three-wide the trip.

“I was happy I had the two main ones [In Secret and Zougotcha] to follow and once she got that split she sprouted wings late,” Maloney said.