Racing
Tropicus wins Group 1 Sportsbet Oakleigh Plate: Post Race Trainer and Jockey Quotes
Trainer and jockey quotes following the Group 1 Sportsbet Oakleigh Plate won by Tropicus at Caulfield on Saturday.
Race Result:1st: Tropicus (A & S Freedman/C Williams) - $7.502nd: Hedged (G Bedggood/H Coffey) - $20
3rd: Gallant Son (P Moody & K Coleman/L Cartwright) - $8.50
Winning Time: 1:02.18 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: 1-¼ lengths x 2 lengths
Oakleigh Plate | Tropicus
It's another G1 triumph for @FreedmanRacing as Tropicus takes over in the final furlong to taste Oakleigh Plate success with @CWilliamsJockey on board
Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/ESSYFXDxjm
— Racing.com (@Racing) February 21, 2026
Winning Trainer: Sam Freedman
On the horse: "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.
Next run: "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."
"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."
Long range target: "It's no easy to ask for setting horses for these races first up, but particularly this horse. Looked at him Monday afternoon, thought he looked a little bit round, so he had a pretty solid hit out on Tuesday with Palaton, actually, and Palaton idled up to him and had him the last 50, but like he does every time he goes to the races, even in the gallop he finds again, and just ultra tough, consistent, all the attributes you want in an entire.
"He puts himself up there, pins his ears back and has a crack. They don't always do that as entires, as you know, but he's one horse he's got better - two, three, four, he just continues to improve.
"He carried a big weight today. Next in store would probably be a weight for age race. I don't think we'd see him in a Newmarket, probably go to a William Reid - he's so good at Caulfield and so good fresh."
Tactics: "We spoke pre-race, and he's a horse that has a high cruising speed, but you don't ride him in a sit and sprint. You put him up there, his best attribute is when they come around him, he pins his ears back and he won't lie down.
"So, once he was in the firing line at the point of the turn, and I sort of thought, anything coming to him, good luck getting past him. There's only one filly I thought might have been able to get past him, but unfortunately she found a bit of trouble early on."
"He's a pleasure around the stable. He's an absolute dude, so hopefully we've got him for a little while longer."
Point Barrow: "She looked like maybe the occasion of the race maybe got to her. She was just in a spot where she wasn't able to maneuver at the right time.
"And got a little bit keen in stages, had one outside of just pinballing around. That's the risk, you're coming out of three-year-old fillies' races to a hardy open grade sprint. She just lacks the experience watching it live to burst through and find the line. But she'll have her day, she's a proper filly and she's probably got improvement in her as well."
30th birthday celebrations: "I'm not going to try and lay up with Clinton (McDonald) on a Saturday night!"
Winning Jockey: Craig Williams
First Oakleigh Plate: "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.'
"I've still got tomorrow at Caulfield, the next day at Pakenham, and just love riding winners. And, again, I can only do it when I've got the right team around me, so my manager, Jason Breen, my family. Everyone in my team does an amazing job to keep me on the track and focused, and I love what I do.
"And then again, I've got to have the horses underneath me, so Sam and Anthony Freedman have done a great job. I love the way, he's a lovely horse to ride.
"So I got given a really good gift today. They rang me up early and said, 'We think he's the right horse for the race.' Manager agreed, so he gets credit for that and even his jump outs that I haven't been a part of, but watched him, they've left the headgear off him and just saved it for the race day today.
"I had a horse that I could do so many options with. With the barrier draw and the way the race was run."
First sit on the horse: "Beginners luck maybe, first time on him— but he seemed pretty good to ride. He's pretty cruisy. I can see why Mark Zara and Damian Lane really enjoyed riding him in their time, and he gave me a lovely ride today, so the race worked out really well for me.
Beaten Jockeys:
Harry Coffey (Hedged): "He was terrific. Proud of him and the team is doing a great job. He's just run into a horse that is bombproof, fast, and does it it's own way. I lost my positioning at the top of the straight and it cost me a length, but I was super proud, he ran his heart out and was good through the line. He carried a bit weight which people were concerned with and I felt he ran as good as he can and he can hold his head high."
Damian Lane (Jedibeel): "He ran super. Worked a little bit too much mid-race from the poor draw. He likes to be smothered and for one crack, so him to stick on as well as he did, I thought it was a good effort."
Ethan Brown (Way To The Stars): "He raced a bit freely and just felt the pinch at the 1100 (metres)."
Beau Mertens (Oak Hill): "He was a little bit disappointing. He got quite keen mid-stages of the race and copped a bump from the inside horse which stirred him up a little bit more than I would have liked. He still travelled nicely into it, had the right run, but failed to finish it off."
Celine Gaudray (She's Bulletproof): "I was pretty happy with her first-up run. She toed me into it for the majority of the way and we got tightened for room late and I do believe she needed the run."
Daniel Stackhouse (Persian Spirit): "I thought he was great. He began well. He was run off his legs early, so I just had to try and keep him travelling and use that turn of foot late. He showed a really good turn of foot after and was really good through the line."
Jye McNeil (Spywire): "He ran honest. A little bit further would be more suitable for him."
Michael Dee (Geegees Mistruth): "A real disaster."
Teo Nugent (Don't Hope Do): "He's done really well to stay on his feet after being carved up. His last 50 (metres) through the line was good."
Logan Bates (De Bergerac): "He ran well. I had him in a nice spot behind Gallant Son early. Just with that tempo I needed to get him back. I just tried to sneak runs and then the gaps sort of closed up. He was first-up and I'm sure he's only going to improve and once he gets back down the straight, he run well."
Luke Cartwright (Gallant Son): "Tough as nails this horse. It was a very bold run today. I found it a bit easy to be honest. They didn't cross me and get the cover I wanted and at the 600 (metres) they were leaving the door open for me and I took it up. He gave a strong kick, but unfortunately there were a few better than him today."
Jamie Melham (Point Barrow): "She was just a bit too fresh today. She was really aggressive early and that took the turn of foot out of her at the end."
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