Dawn Approach delivers for Sigley
A magnificent training performance by Vaughn Sigley saw Dawn Approach claim his third straight win with an outstanding all-the-way front-running performance in today’s $100,000 Miss Andretti Stakes (1200m) at Ascot.
Sigley was down at Mt Barker with Dawn Approach last Sunday when the four-year-old beat Rebelson in the $90,000 Mungrup Sprint (1300m).
Prior to that Dawn Approach had won a restricted 1200m handicap at Ascot on January 10, after being sixth to Sujet in another 1200m handicap on New Year’s Day.
The well-backed $2.80 favourite Cool Trade jumped first out of the gates, but was quickly overtaken by Dawn Approach, who was backed from $6.50 into $4.20, to land a winning hat-trick in the Listed feature.
Shining Knight ($3 to $3.80) was caught up in traffic well behind the leading, but the 59kg topweight ran home strongly to narrowly be denied the minor end of the trifecta by Pininci ($21).
Sigley has been on the hottest streak of his training career, saddling 11 city wins and six provincial winners this season.
Stable star Black Hart Bart won the Carbine Club Stakes (1400m) on November 22, before being freshened to run second to Shining Knight in the Crawford Stakes (1000m) and then turn the tables on that horse in the Summer Scorcher (1000m) on New Year’s Day.
The former jockey was most humble in the mounting yard.
“I have good horses and they make it,” Sigley said. “All you want to see as a trainer is your horses go out and do their best.
“The only time this horse has finished out of the money was when he was shinsore as a two-year-old.
“Winning over 1300m at Mt Barker gave me confidence, but then he had to make the trip there and back and butter up.”
Dawn Approach has now won $282,415 from his six wins and six placings from 17 starts.
The Son of Statue Of Liberty has been a great “pick-up” ride for Takahide Ikenushi, who has an unblemished record of three rides for the Sigley camp for three wins. His other winner was She’s A Virtue at Pinjarra on January 11.
Ikenushi replaced Shaun Meeres, who is sidelined with an injury.
Dawn Approach was “Ike’s” maiden city winner for 2014-15. He has had 14 metropolitan rides for a win, a second and a third.
"He has very good hands and horses run for him," Sigley said.
Sigley had no immediate plans for Dawn Approach, who is owned by Alan and Birgitt Macalister, who won the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) with the Jim Taylor-trained Magnifisio on November 22.
William Pike rode another treble, on the Bob and Sandra Peters-owned King River and Highly Secret and Roman Knows, to shoot his tally at the head of the jockeys’ ladder to 56 city wins.
He is 24 wins ahead of apprentice Lucy Warwick who rode her first Victorian winner, on Bourne Supremacy, in a 1209m maiden at Yarra Valley.
Warwick is on a three-month contract with Bourne Supremacy’s trainers Leon and Troy Cortsens.
Peter Knuckey rode an early double on Essayez (Race 1) and Dragonlead (Race 4).
