Sunlight wins the William Reid Stakes (Image: Racing Photos)
Ben Melham has a suspected broken wrist and his mount Voodoo Lad had to be euthanised after they crashed to the ground in a sickening finish to the feature race at The Valley on Friday night.
Sprint queen Sunlight turned on a sustained burst of speed to add the group 1 William Reid Stakes to her ever-growing CV but the win was overshadowed by the incident just metres from the line which saw Melham fall heavily and Voodoo Lad break a leg.
Up until that point, the race was a thriller with Sunlight ($1.70 fav) first having to claim the lead after burning off fellow three-year-old Written By and then she ran four lengths clear into the home straight before eventually saluting by three quarters of a length to the fast-finishing Spright ($7.50) with Ellicazoom ($51) in third place.
The victory was Sunlight’s third group 1 success following her last-start win in the Newmarket Handicap and with her Coolmore Stud Stakes win at Flemington last spring.
Trainer Tony McEvoy said Sunlight was now truly one of the sprint stars of Australia and that there might be so much more to come.
‘’She could be one of the best of the best,’’ McEvoy said. ‘’That’s her 10th win from 15 starts and he’s earned over $4 million already. What a star.’’
McEvoy said Sunlight would now head to Sydney to verify her position as among the country’s leading sprinters.
‘’That’s where the best sprinters go and that’s where we’ll head with her now,’’ McEvoy said.
Melham was taken to the Royal Melbourne hospital for scans on his wrist. He only had the one ride at Rosehill on Saturday, that being Night’s Watch in the group 1 Ranvet Stakes.