Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Chad Schofield remembers calling trainer Joe Pride and “pretty much begging” for the ride on Ceolwulf in the Epsom Handicap two years ago.
Soon after he was celebrating a special group 1 win, his first in Australia in a decade, in the $1.5 million mile.
This year the jockey is pleading for a little help from above to give Ceolwulf a chance to defy history and score a second victory in the Epsom.
Ceolwulf, now six, has topweight of 59 kilograms on Saturday at Randwick. No horse has carried more than 57kg to success since Super Impose with 61kg in 1991.
Schofield, who has guided Ceolwulf to three more group 1 wins, knows the challenge ahead in a race dominated by lightweights, but he has been encouraged by the gelding’s runs this time in.
Ceolwulf was sixth in the Epsom last year with 58kg, after winning with 54kg, and is on an identical preparation through strong-finishing runs in the Winx, Chelmsford and 7 Stakes, but Schofield feels the $13 (TAB) hope from gate seven is in better shape. His odds should improve if forecast rain comes.
“If I compare his early prep runs from last year to now, they are chalk and cheese,” Schofield said on Friday.
“He’s going much better this time, and I’m going to spend the majority of today staring at the sky and praying for rain.
“He can run so well on a firm track, his last King Charles win was a very firm and fast track, but he’s just as good on a wet track, whereas others aren’t as good.
“He’s by far the best horse in the race, and that’s why he’s got the weight. But I love going into races on Ceolwulf because I know his capabilities.”
Schofield was also encouraged by the presence of front-runners Fully Lit, Perfumist and Matcha Latte drawn to his outside.
“There will certainly be more speed than he’s had his last two runs, with Lindermann and Autumn Glow cantering up in front, so it’s only a plus,” he said.
Ceolwulf’s storming win down the outside in 2024 was a memorable moment for Schofield, who had a three-year drought at the top level after returning from a seven-year stint in Hong Kong.
“I’d run a heap of seconds, so I was starting to get really frustrated,” he said.
“Thankfully Ceolwulf came along, it was my first ride on him, so it was the beginning of a really good relationship, and we’re not done yet.”
Schofield’s latest group 1 win, in the Surround Stakes, came on Tempted and she looks set to take another step to the Everest on Saturday in the $1 million Premiere Stakes (1200m).
Runner-up to Ka Ying Rising in the Everest last year, Tempted was brilliant in winning the Concorde Stakes first-up and was a $1.60 to repeat the dose, despite a draw in 11.
“She’s a little bit better off at the weights in this one,” Schofield said.
“The draw isn’t ideal, but we’ll wait and see how the track is playing. She’s not an on-speed horse, but she’s so tractable in her races and her asset is obviously her turn of foot.
“She hasn’t been beaten since running second to [Ka Ying Rising]. We’re five out of five together. It would be lovely to head into the Everest still unbeaten together.”
Schofield is also on an odds-on favourite, Genesis Runner, in the listed Dulcify Stakes (1600m). He has ridden the Richard and Will Freedman colt several times in trials but gets a first race chance on Saturday.
“We’ve not seen close to the best of him yet, and I’m hoping he can show a glimpse of what I think he’s got,” he said.
“I think his two runs this prep have been better than they looked. Up in trip, over to Randwick and blinkers on, they are three big pluses. I’ll be disappointed if he’s not winning.”
Adkins makes no secret of Everest claims
Jockey Andrew Adkins believes King’s Secret deserves an Everest call-up, if he can improve again on his stellar runs this preparation in another $1 million lead-up.
Adkins and Joe Pride-trained King’s Secret have made the most of handy draws in the Concorde Stakes (1000m) and The Shorts (1100m), finishing fourth then a neck away third to enter the Everest discussion.
The five-year-old, a half-brother to two-time Everest placegetter Private Eye, has another nice draw, in five, to push his claims again on Saturday.
“He’s exceeded expectations again this preparation, as he did in the previous, he just keeps getting better,” said Adkins, who is yet to ride in the $20 million race.
“He’s improving with age, just like his brother did.
“He’ll be assisted by another good gate. He’s been going great and he obviously beat some of these horses last start, so he’s in the race with a good live hope.
“Hopefully, he keeps exceeding expectations. He’s only got to do that again on Saturday and I think he deserves a chance [in the Everest].”
Adkins will ride King’s Secret, a winner on heavy going, at 58.5kg, a race after getting down to 50kg to partner Chris Waller-trained Declichy Boulevard in the Epsom. The $23 chance has also drawn well, in two, and has winning wet-track form.
“I ride 52 most Saturdays so it’s not too much hassle, but you certainly feel it,” he said of getting to 50kg.
“She’s got the favourite and second favourite either side of her, so it’s pretty self-explanatory there. We’ll be tagging those two into the race and they are going to take her everywhere she needs to be.
“She’s got the light weight, so she’s going to be there when the whips are cracking late in the piece. She’s high on confidence after a really good win last start and she’s going very well. At the weight in a race like that, I thought she was a very live chance.”
Adkins will be one of the more experienced lightweight riders in a race featuring apprentices Siena Grima (God’s Window), Mollie Fitzgerald (Encap) and Jackson Radley (Plymouth), who will be in their first group 1 race.
In the group 3 Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) for two-year-old fillies, Adkins has $3.60 favourite Shezablaze.
Adkins said the Peter Snowden-trained talent was exceptional in her trial win but faced a tough task from gate nine on Saturday.
“She’s not a big horse but she shows heart,” he said.
“She’s been impressive all prep, all through her jump outs, so I was expecting that in the trial.
“It’s not the ideal gate, but she’s a fast horse, and she will make her own luck.
“Those two-year-old races, you never know what’s going to happen when the gates open. If she shows that speed from the jump outs and trial, she will put herself up there. The horse inside her showed good speed, too, so that might help her come across.
“The favourite scratching helps as well, and she’s a really good chance.”
