Desert Skyline powers to Doncaster Cup victory

Desert Skyline and De Sousa pounced from off the pace to land the Doncaster Cup. Picture: Racingfotos.com

Desert Skyline indicated he could become a standing dish in the QIPCO British Champions Series for years to come with victory in the the Doncaster Cup.

The three-year-old gelding, trained by David Elsworth, came from last to first under Silvestre De Sousa to put older rivals in his place.

He was not winning out of turn, his consistent efforts this year including a third behind Stradivarius and Big Orange in the Qatar Goodwood Cup.

High Jinx and Pallasator led the nine-strong field into the straight, but both eventually faltered. Sheikhzayedroad, seeking back-to-back wins, hit the front with two furlongs to run, but was soon followed through by Willie Mullins-trained Irish challenger Thomas Hobson and the nine-year-old Clever Cookie.

However, none of that trio had any answers when Desert Skyline arrived on the scene late in the day and he powered clear to score by a length and a half. Thomas Hobson beat Sheikhzayedroad to the runner-up spot by a head, with Clever Cookie clear of the rest in fourth.

Elsworth, who won the Doncaster Cup with the hugely popular Persian Punch in 2003, said: “I was pleased with him, of course, as he’s only a three-year-old. He had a weight-for-age concession, but it’s tough out there.

“It’s not like driving a car around the M25 and you just pull out and go! It looked like that, but they’ve got to dig deep and work hard. There’s not a lot of him and it’s quite a big call to run a three-year-old over two and a quarter miles, but he’s tough.

“He’s run consistently well at a high level and you’ll hear more of him next year.”

He added: “I had no idea he was going to be a stayer. As a two-year-old he was naughty so he needed cutting (gelding), I’m sure he wouldn’t be as good if we hadn’t.”

Thomas Hobson has been talked up as a possible contender for this year’s Melbourne Cup, but owner Rich Ricci is not committing to a trip to Australia just yet.

He said: “It’s a big punt, Melbourne, because, rightly so, there’s no help with the Melbourne Cup. It’s all self-funded and it’s expensive, so you want to make sure you go there with a fighting chance.”