Young Godolphin stallion Astern looked to have a lock in the Caulfield Guineas with Aft Cabin, but with his injury-enforced absence, it was time for another son of Astern to step up in the $3,000,000 Group 1 feature.
Golden Mile travelled south with impeccable credentials with a win in the Group III Ming Dynasty at Rosehill and a close-up fourth in the Group 1 Golden Rose.
Still, it required a James McDonald special to see Golden Mile triumph by a head from the fast-finishing Dundeel colt Elliptical by a head with the Pierro colt Osipenko neck back in third.
Berkeley Square, Tijuana, and Amenable were all less than a length from the winner.
Golden Mile advances his record to three wins and a second from five starts with earnings of $2,016,500.
“He was huge, and the ride was just a pure ride, and it makes a difference when you can get a top jockey on,” Cummings said.
“The horse emerged to win his debut (at Ballarat). We brought him back to Sydney, gave him a good break, and he hasn’t stopped running slashing races in Sydney with the Caulfield Guineas written all over him.
“And in the background of all that, Crown Lodge sent down Aft Cabin - beautiful horse. Took the small fish, did everything right, and Carbine Lodge just kept improving the horse when they got him and with a week to go, it was heartache.
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uo;Bart and Chin Nam used to laugh amongst each other about going from the zenith of hope to the abyss of despair, and that’s how I felt walking off the track last week.
“But to have turned it around seven days later and still emerged with the winner, you can’t imagine what a sense of satisfaction and fatalism for us is pretty important (and) pretty special to us.
“Hasn’t that been a story this season? The emergence of Astern as a powerhouse stallion, and we’re very lucky to have him in the barn and if he keeps producing horses like Aft Cabin and Golden Mile, then we’re well and truly there with a big advantage and we’ve got that to look forward to.”
“Golden Mile, he’s been through all my stables. He started at Crown and won on debut from Carbine, then to Osborne Park. These are seriously talented people, and they deserve the accolades they get because they can produce colts like Golden Mile and Anamoe.”
James McDonald said Golden Mile needed a turn of foot to get out of trouble.
“He was great. He had a great turn of foot the horse and that’s what won him the race today,” McDonald said.
“He worked into a nice enough spot. It was quite messy to the first bend. He actually went to go right instead of going left and was just off kilt a little bit, but once he gathered up momentum he idled into the race and had a great turn of foot.”
Golden Mile is the best of three winners from as many to race from the stakes-winning Lonhro mare Calaverite, a half-sister to Group winners Gold Fever and Gold Rush.
Calaverite has a two year-old colt by Exceed and Excel called Stanislaus that trialled earlier this week, a yearling colt by Microphone and is in foal to Street Boss (USA).
Golden Mile is the first Group 1 winner for Astern, pleasing those breeders that have supported the Golden Rose winner at a fee of $11,000.
