Spirit Ridge (GB), by Nathaniel (IRE) from Tates Creek (USA) grabbed victory in the Group 3 Heineken Summer Cup run at Royal Randwick on Boxing Day 2020. This historic race was first run in 1890 (the same year Carbine won the Melbourne Cup) and is now conducted over a reduced distance of 2000m.

The stable entered two Darby syndicated contenders for this race, the mare Greysful Glamour and the Import Spirit Ridge. Both jumped well with Spirit Ridge taking the lead briefly before settling third on the fence with the grey taking up her usual position upfront.

A brilliant ride by fully fledged jockey Robbie Dolan saw Spirit Ridge bide his time on the rails only to push out at the 400m mark. He joined the stablemate, but the Godolphin horse Best of Days (Azamour/Baisse) loomed and looked to have them both beaten clearly but Spirit Ridge found again to claim the hard-fought win. Greysful Glamour carrying 59kg, the weight telling in the late stages, finished a gallant fifth.

Congratulations to Darby Racing and their owners for another successful day, once again combining forces to take out the feature race of the day.

Pictures courtesy of Bradleys Photography