A large contingent of owners for the Richard and Will Freedman-trained Cold Brew generated considerable noise during and after the race, as their gelding continued his impressive run of form.
Top jockey Chad Schofield, who was in the saddle for Cold Brew, acknowledged the enthusiastic ownership group with his whip as he guided the horse back to the winner’s enclosure.
“I could hear the crowd at the 400m,” Schofield said. “But that’s great for racing, they are cheering for their horse so good on them.
“He wasn’t hanging today and as soon as he swapped his lead (leg) he went straight. It was a very impressive win.”
Cold Brew ($4.80) still demonstrates some flaws in his racing, but his evident talent shone through as he finished strongly to win by a half length from The Creator ($10), with Seven’s ($4.60 favourite) coming in a close third.
Will Freedman was addressing the media post-race when he had to pause his interview momentarily as his owners broke into a loud “Cold Brew, Cold Brew” chant.
“This is what racing is all about,” Freedman said. “They have all got a small slice of Cold Brew and now he has won two in a row for them.
“To the horse’s credit, he keeps getting better and better, he just wins.
“I said to the owners before the race if he can win today, on the back of winning a (benchmark) 72 Midway and then coming to a 78, then you have a pretty good horse.”
Cold Brew, by former champion Pierro, won three races consecutively last winter but required an extended spell due to injury. His ownership changed during this period, and he has since returned with two wins from three starts this campaign.
“I think he might be up to low grade stakes level but there is a (benchmark) 88 before we get there,” Freedman said.
“He will keep getting better as he is very inexperienced but I think he will get 2000m in time.
“He has won five of his last six starts, not many horses can do that, so it is exciting for everyone involved.”
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