ROBINSON GETS OWN "EVEREST" WITH CITY BREAKTHROUGH

Photo Credit: Bradley Photos

WEDNESDAY: October 12, 2022: IT’S The Everest week – and Daniel Robinson climbed to the top of his own mountain at Warwick Farm today.

The skilled horseman, who trains a small team at Hawkesbury as a side to his DPR Breaking business, won his first metropolitan race when Karmazone ($6.50) made it two wins from two starts this campaign.

Ridden by apprentice Zac Lloyd, the seven-year-old gelding burst between runners in the straight to defeat $26 outsider Roman and $3.20 favorite Hollywood North in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1600m).

It was a special result for Robinson and his wife Ally, who own Karmazone after purchasing him for $27,000 as a yearling in Adelaide in 2017.

“We went through a big list of horses at that sale, and bought him initially to prepare and sell later that year at the Inglis Ready2Race sale,” Robinson said this evening.

“But I liked Karmazone the first time I lunged him, and we both took a shine to him.

“We decided to hang on to him, and he has been a wonderful horse for us.”

Making expatriate Englishman Robinson’s city breakthrough even more special was that Karmazone raced in similar colours to that worn by his father, former champion jockey Phillip, in his first classic success on the outstanding filly Pebbles in the 1984 Thousand Guineas at Newmarket.

Robinson took out his training licence at the beginning of the 2018 season and won his first race with online buy Dexluther at Bathurst on December 22 that year.

Having decided not to sell Karmazone, Robinson opted against racing him as a two-year-old and in fact didn’t begin his career until September 2019 as an early four-year-old when the gelding made a winning debut at Orange.

“Because we owned him ourselves, there was no need to rush him,” Robinson said.

“He went shin sore, so we took our time.

“Now as a seven-year-old, he is repaying us being in the best form of his career.”

Karmazone has won six races and been placed five times, and has earned just over $177,000 prizemoney – with the promise of more to come.

That could well be at Royal Randwick on Melbourne Cup day (November 1) in a Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1800m).

Robinson accepted with the Eurozone gelding in last Friday’s $200,000 Port Macquarie Cup (2000m) and also a Benchmark 78 Handicap (2000m) at Randwick the following day, but bypassed both races.

“Karmazone was getting only 2kg from the odds-on favorite Quality Time (who won the Cup), and I didn’t feel we could beat him at Port Macquarie,” he said.

“When the track was so heavy at Randwick and I noticed this race at Warwick Farm today, I thought it would be best to wait in the hope the track would be a bit drier.

“Additionally, the 1600m looked an ideal lead-up to the Randwick race in a couple of weeks.”

. Hawkesbury’s triple Group 1 winning mare Duais (Josh Parr) has drawn barrier nine for Saturday’s $5m Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).

Duais carries the No 2 saddlecloth for trainer Edward Cummings, and will jump from barrier seven in the capacity field of 18 if the two emergencies do not secure starts.

The one-time Cup favorite is currently a $13 chance with TAB.com.au, with Turnbull Stakes winner Smokin’ Romans (Jamie Kah) the $4.60 favorite.