Trainer and jockey quotes after Chest Of Gold takes out the Freeway Ford Shooting Stars at Cranbourne on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Chest Of Gold (Julius Sandhu/Beau Mertens) - $6.50
2nd: Astral Flame (Enver Jusufovici/Lachlan Neindorf) - $4.20
3rd: Big Sexy (Maddie Raymond & Patrick Bell/Ethan Brown) - $2.60 fav
Winning Time: 1:30.40 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Short-Head x 1-1/2L
Cranbourne Race 5 | Chest Of Gold
— Racing.com (@Racing) November 22, 2025
Chest Of Gold had his opposition chasing as they cornered for home, and he wasn't for catching in the straight
Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/QhpsnyLswL
Winning Trainer: Julius Sandhu
See the horse bounce back: "A deep breath for me. I stuffed it up last time, honestly. I tried to get a little bit too cute with him and iron a few things out and it came unstuck. The horse got the worst of it and there were a few things labelled against his name after that, but he got back home and did things that he normally does, he ate well, he worked well. He got to this race and there was no disadvantage to be on the speed and I said to Beau, to keep him comfortable, let him roll as he needs a little bit of room to build momentum. I said to Beau to get rolling at the 500 (metres) and hopefully he can build the revs up and he gave him a perfect ride and all's well that ends well."
How much has Beau been advantage with this horse: "To be honest, Beau has had more confidence in the horse than I had. I knew he was OK early days, but Beau kept saying to me he's good, he's got some talent and we haven't seen the best of it yet and he's only going to get better with time, so it was a rewarding win for the horse and even more so for Beau to be on him when it happens."
Break now: "I would have thought so. I'll call the owners and have a bit of a chat, but my gut feeling is we'll send him out and give him a break, but the way he carries on, he might go home and do some cartwheels and change my mind, but for now, I would say he needs a break."
Winning Jockey: Beau Mertens
What to make of last start: "For me, he's always given 110 per cent, so I haven't really seen that side of him. It was good to get back on him today. Julius had him on song. He was a different horse today. He jumped and got to the the front and usually he just floats, but today he really wanted to grab the bridle and be up there himself and even though he quicked really well around he was tough in the straight and deserved that win."
Tempo?: "I thought I was rolling along nicely early on and then I just got him back after he was a little keen early. Once I was able to get a breather from those midrace sectionals, I knew he was going to give a kick and be hard to run down. That was one was coming quite quickly and he was probably on his last legs late, but he's a tough horse and got the job done."
