For the second consecutive Saturday a high-class graduate — foaled, raised and sold — of Sledmere Stud recorded a Group 1 success in one of the most coveted events on the domestic racing calendar when Communist (by Russian Revolution) landed the $1 million, Group 1, The Agency Randwick Guineas (1600m) at Randwick in Sydney.
Trained by Michael Freedman and ridden to victory by Hong Kong based expatriate jockey Zac Purton, Communist ran out a clear winner of the 3-year-old Classic to become the fourth individual Group 1 winning Sledmere Stud graduate for the current racing season.
In a race run with very little incident, Communist proved dominant, finishing over a length clear of Lindermann in second and Zou Tiger in third.
Freedman purchased Communist out of the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft of Sledmere Stud for $160,000 and has always held the gelding in high regard. Nonetheless, he was the first to recognise the role Purton played in the victory immediately following the top-flight victory.
“I think having a set of fresh eyes with Zac [Purton] coming from Hong Kong, I’m not going to tie him down with instructions,” the winning trainer remarked. “He’s a world-class rider and it’s great to have him back, and obviously I’m rapt with the result, more so for the people that are involved with this horse. They’ve been very staunch owners of mine.”
Freedman added: “His work on Monday at Hawkesbury was first class. I think maybe just having Zac here … not too many preconceived ideas. We just said ‘ride him how you feel he’s traveling’. He is a better chaser; I’ve always felt that there’s this sort of run in him.”
Bred by China Horse Club Racing P/L, Communist took his earnings to $930,565 following 10 starts that have yielded four wins and as many placings.
The Group 1 Randwick Guineas victory of Communist follows swiftly on the heels of the Group 1 Blue Diamond victory of Little Brose at Sandown the previous weekend. Group 1 winning graduates of Sledmere Stud this current racing season now number four following the equally memorable victories of Icebath (NZ) in the TAB Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) and Snapdancer in the Magic Millions Memsie Stakes (1400m) during the spring.