My Redeemer Highlights Richmond Card

A handful of trainers received much more than they bargained for when the fields were released for this Friday night's Richmond card, with Group 1 Melbourne Cup winner My Redeemer drawn in a 4/5^th grade event over the 535m.

Staking a pretty strong claim for the best graded runner of 2019 – yes, despite the fact we are still in January – the Dave Geall-trained son of Fernando Bale will make his Richmond debut in the $1,600 to-the-winner affair, no doubt as a firm hit-out towards the upcoming Group 2 Richmond Derby Series, which gets underway in March.

Dwarfing his opposition with a whopping $652,000 in prizemoney, his seven rivals amassing $125,000 between them, the two-time group 1 winner will start rock-bottom odds for the fourth event on Friday night from box seven, where his appearance adds plenty of gloss to a card that also features four heats of the Kevin Waters Towing Cannonball (400m).

Geall is no stranger to venturing to Richmond to tackle the time-honoured Derby and Oaks Series'.

In 2017 and in 2018, his champion bitch Up Hill Jill finished runner-up in both her heat and final of the Group 2 Richmond Oaks, in 2017 going down narrowly to fellow Victorian Mumma Josie, before last year finishing second to another star Victorian, Blue Sky Riot.

Back in 2008, Geall finished second in the Richmond Derby Final with his hugely talented galloper Bo Frazier, the son of Spiral Nikita finishing runner-up to hometown hero Mandagery Man by two lengths in 30.49.