Tropicus Delivers for Freedman with Oakleigh Plate Win at Caulfield

Tropicus, a four-year-old entire by Too Darn Hot, surged to the lead at the 300m and claimed the G1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday, clocking 1:02.18 and defeating Hedged by 1.25 lengths while carrying 58.5 kg. Craig Williams produced the decisive move after being caught three-wide to the home turn, and Tropicus collected a share of the $750,000 prize for the feature sprint.

Hedged finished second carrying 59 kg as topweight, beaten 1.25 lengths and listed at $20. Gallant Son ran on for third, two lengths behind Hedged and carrying 52 kg, while Jedibeel was a long-head back in fourth carrying 58.5 kg. Tropicus started at $7.50 and had been second-string for the Freedman stable behind stablemate Point Barrow, the $2.60 favourite.

The Oakleigh Plate was Tropicus’s first Group 1 victory and his third stakes-level win, bringing his record to four wins and three placings from 12 starts. The colt is raced by Kia Ora Stud and is listed as bred by Kia Ora Stud Pty Ltd; other breeder attributions include Mr D Kelly and Mrs J Kelly. Tropicus also adds to the sire record for Too Darn Hot: Tropicus joins Fallen Angel, Broadsiding, Hotazhell and Tornado Alert as G1 winners for Too Darn Hot, who is now the sire of five individual G1 winners and 31 Stakes winners worldwide. Too Darn Hot has been promoted as a Champion First and Second-Season Sire in Australia and is credited with siring 258 winners of 484 races globally.

Craig Williams completed a Group 1 double on the Caulfield card after earlier riding Pericles to victory in the G1 Futurity Stakes. On the Oakleigh Plate ride Williams reflected on the moment: “I didn’t realise until they mentioned it. My father was having a chat with me the other day and he’s trying to realise that he’s not getting too old about how many group ones I’ve won and all the races. And he said, ‘Oh, you’ve done at all?’ I said, ‘No, Dad, there’s never all.’” He added plainly after the Oakleigh Plate, “I got given a really good gift today.”

Co-trainer Sam Freedman celebrated a milestone as well, with the victory landing on his 30th birthday. Freedman underlined Tropicus’s development and toughness: “He’s a proper horse, he deserves that. As a three-year-old he raced against some of the best, Broadsiding and a few really proper colts. He’s got better as an entire and one of those horses that just trains on and on and on, we’ve seen him get better this prep, you wouldn’t rule out him going to another level again.” On the horse’s background and next steps Freedman said, “I don’t think he’s a straight horse, to be honest. He’s generally good around a bend, he’s so good here. [...] “So we’ll chat to the team at Kia Ora, they’ve been great supporters of ours for such a long time. Luke and Shane and the whole team, they’re leading an amazing group of horses. This horse was largely unwanted as a yearling, Brett Cavanagh did a lot of his early work as a yearling and a two-year-old, he’s ultra tough.” He added the likely short-term plan: “I’d say we may end up in a William Reid, something like that, but we’ll have a chat and let the dust settle.”

The Oakleigh Plate outcome underlined Tropicus’s sprint credentials while registering as the heaviest weight carried to victory in Caulfield’s feature sprint since the introduction of metrics in 1973. Connections noted Newmarket Handicap support tightened around Tropicus to $11, but Freedman indicated the William Reid Stakes at Caulfield on March 21 is a more probable next target.