Wednesday Racing: No catching the Duke at Sandown

The calculated move of sending talented gallopers south to Melbourne to dodge Sydney’s wet winter tracks paid off again on Wednesday, with the well-bred Duke Atreides (Written Tycoon) delivering a dominant, all-the-way win at Sandown.

Trained by Annabel and Rob Archibald who enjoyed a country-wide treble, the 3-year-old colt was making his second race appearance after finishing a solid fourth on debut at Newcastle on July 12. Showing natural improvement and appreciating the roomy track, Duke Atreides controlled proceedings under jockey Ethan Brown, leading from the outset and kicking away down the Sandown straight to score by one and three-quarter lengths. He proved too strong for two well-fancied runners in the closing stages, Algorithmic (Zoustar), the three-quarter-brother to star filly Zougotcha (Zoustar), and Fastoso (Shamus Award).

Co-trainer Annabel Archibald was delighted with the performance.

“He's always been a horse that's shown plenty, but we were trying to dodge the wet tracks up in Sydney,” she said.

“I said to Ethan (Ethan Brown), he was a bit green when he hit the front and wobbled about at Newcastle, but there wasn't much speed today so I left it up to Ethan.

“The horse has his ears pricked all the way, and it looked pretty soft to me.

“His half-brother is Best Of Bordeaux, who was second in a Golden Slipper, so there's plenty of sharpness in the family as well,” Archibald added.

“We'll see what Ethan thinks, he might well stretch out over a bit further. But it was good to just do that today, he's always shown plenty at home and in his trials. It's good to just knock off his maiden, and it's the right time of year to be winning your maiden and looking for something nicer.”

Sales information: Duke Atreides was a $575,000 purchase at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for TFI and Annabel Archibald from Baramul Stud.