Taylor Marshall has achieved a career-defining moment, securing his first Group One victory in Queensland’s premier handicap, the Stradbroke Handicap, nearly forty years after his late father John Marshall’s second win in the race aboard Robian Steele.
Aboard the Toby Edmonds-trained Spicy Martini ($13), Marshall guided the mare to a thrilling triumph in the $3 million Eagle Farm feature on Saturday. She burst from the pack to score by a length over the closing Sepals ($31), with Von Hauke ($41) a further three-quarters of a length behind in third.
Marshall, who commenced his riding career in 2013, had previously seen his biggest success at Group 3 level. As Spicy Martini surged to the lead, he found himself contemplating the advice his famous father might have offered.
“I was thinking of Dad saying, ‘patient, patient’. But what a thrill,” Marshall stated. “Every jockey needs that one horse to put them on the map, so to speak, and I’m hoping she’s that one.”
“She has already proven to jag a Group One, and not only a Group One, but Queensland’s most prestigious race. I’m lost for words.”
John Marshall, a renowned jockey who rode extensively for Bart Cummings, partnered Rogan Josh to victory in the 1999 Melbourne Cup. His two Stradbroke Handicap wins aboard Campaign King and Robian Steele, both in 1989, were also achieved for the legendary trainer.
John Marshall sadly passed away in December 2018 at the age of 60.
Spicy Martini has been an incredible acquisition for trainer Toby Edmonds, who secured her online for a mere $8000. She has now won six of her twelve starts and amassed close to $2.7 million in prize money.
This victory marked Edmonds’ second Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) title. He expressed his happiness in savouring this win, particularly as his first with Tyzone in 2020 occurred during the peak of the Covid outbreak.
“To win it twice is big. It’s big for me. I’m sixty years of age now, I don’t know how many more years of training I’ve got to go,” Edmonds said. “I’ll tell you one thing, you give me a horse like this, I’ll win another one too.”
The top mare Fangirl struggled in the heavy track conditions but displayed considerable grit to finish fourth. Jockey James McDonald considered her performance to be one of the best of her career.
“She always runs her heart out, but today under trying circumstance she was superb,” McDonald commented. “I thought it was one of the better runs of her career. She doesn’t really handle it (heavy track), but she had the audacity to fight on.”
Trainer Chris Waller indicated earlier this week that Fangirl would race on next season, with a possible resumption in the Winx Stakes (1400m) scheduled for August.
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