Redzel confirmed his status as Australia's best sprinter with a dominant win up the Flemington straight in the Group One Darley Classic on Saturday afternoon.
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It was a triumph for trainer Peter Snowden, silencing the doubters once and for all as Redzel ran the country's best sprinters off their legs for the second time in less than a month, ultimately cruising home by a little under a length.
Snowden was bemused at the question marks that still hovered over Redzel given The Everest win in mid-October not only earned the 30-person syndicate that owns the horse – including former Orange City cricketers Frank Weymouth and Stu Milne – $5.8 million but marked the five-year-old speed machine's fifth win in succession.
Snowden had no doubts Redzel could win his sixth race in a row.
"He keeps stepping up and he keeps proving all the doubters wrong," Snowden said.
"He keeps getting it done by a professional performance: jumped, led and sustained speed to finish it off."
Redzel jumped from barrier 10 on Saturday and led along the outside rail up the Flemington straight to beat the improved Terravista, and Impending in third.
Snowden said he might aim the horse to win back-to-back Everest Classics and that he could run in major sprint races for another three seasons if he stayed sound.
"He's just so laid-back," Snowden said.
"He doesn't turn a hair. He is a beautiful horse to work. He will run whatever time you want him to run on the track."
Snowden said the horse turned his form around from the moment he won at the Flemington spring carnival a year earlier, he has 11 wins from 21 starts now.
"He is an unassuming horse ... and racing in great heart," jockey Kerrin McEvoy said.
"He has got a good cruising speed; he was nice through the first furlong and then we were going good fractions from the 900 metres onwards, then we pushed the button at the 400 metres and he was too strong for them again."
Terravista's run signalled a return to form for the Joseph Pride-trained sprinter while Impending continues to live up to his promise.
Chautauqua's rider Dwayne Dunn was slapped with a 14-meeting suspension for careless riding on the grey, hampering Michael Dee on Man From Uncle as the field approached the 1400-metre mark.
The heavily backed Chautauqua could finish only fourth.
It came on the back of a 10-meeting suspension Dunn incurred for careless riding on Cedar Grande in the Matriarch Stakes a race earlier. Both suspensions will be served concurrently.
Katelyn Mallyon, who rode Super Cash, was banned for 11 meetings for also causing interference to Michael Dee on Man From Uncle in the early part of the straight as she followed Redzel to the outside fence.