Circle Of Fire, an imported gelding with a royal pedigree, revelled in the wet conditions to win the Group 2 Chairman's Quality
Circle Of Fire winning the G2 on Saturday
Circle Of Fire, the English import bred by Queen Elizabeth II, picked a fitting location to score his maiden Australian win with a super staying effort at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The smart son of Almanzor was purchased by Australian connections last year and has been quick to make his presence felt in his first preparation Down Under.
The Ciaron Maher-trained Circle Of Fire enhanced his Sydney Cup credentials when he thrived in the heavy conditions to score the biggest win of his career in the Group 2 Chairman's Quality (2600m).
"He's just a monster of an animal," apprentice Dylan Gibbons said.
ðŸ-¥ Circle Of Fire mows them down in the G2 Chairman's Quality!@aus_turf_club@cmaherracing@djgibbons22pic.twitter.com/JmUv7Mt94U
- SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 6, 2024
"He gives you the best feel in the world and the problem is, in these staying races they want to go 12.5, 13 (second furlongs) and he just wants to go 11.5, 12s.
"So you just get into a bit of a battle with him but I was trying to hang onto him for as long as I could and from the half-mile I just had to work with him with that light weight.
"He was very tough late."
Gibbons had Circle Of Fire travelling comfortably in the back half of the field before inserting the import In the race rounding the turn.
He needed the length of the Randwick straight to take Circle Of Fire ($3.30) through his gears.
The four-year-old responded to Gibbons urging to mow down the Annabel Neasham-trained Hopeful ($8.50) late to score by a long neck while Double Cherry ($12) was 1-1/4 lengths away in third.
"Dylan's got a pretty good handle on him now," Maher said.
"Just what we do next start - hopefully all going well he'll pull up well and we're going to a Sydney Cup - but whether you do just roll forward a little bit and let him just use his action a little bit.
"I was always confident because he pulled a little bit last start and was able to finish, but it was a little bit nervous."
Circle Of Fire is now a $6 equal second elect for next week's Sydney Cup.
Share your thoughts