Shepparton-born trainer Liam Howley continued his successful spring, with stable favourite Almighty Will delivering a memorable victory at Cranbourne on Friday night.
Almighty Will — who was the first winner trained by the Liam Howley Racing stable — produced the sixth victory of his career in stunning fashion, coming from ninth with 400m remaining to clinch a 0.2-length victory.
The Howley trained galloper jumped as a genuine roughie paying $21 in the 1400m Freeway Ford #NextGenRanger 0-64 Handicap.
With Jason Maskiell in the saddle, Almighty Will settled in his customary position towards the back of the field.
As the race reached its halfway point, Maskiell made a slight move, pulling away from the back of the pack to get his horse within striking distance as the field approached the back straight.
Having to chase down favourite Writey O’pal out in front, he shifted to the outside, passing the middle portion of the field after finding a small gap.
This gave him the perfect opportunity to strike, with the clean air allowing him to let loose in the final 200m, pinching the lead in the dying moments for a memorable victory.
Speaking on behalf of Liam Howley Racing following the victory, Ben Plant was full of praise for how Almighty Will handled the race.
“It was a super win, a super ride by Jase (Jason Maskiell) after we sort of left it to him,” Plant said.
“Heading into the race we were super confident he could get the job done and once he hit that gap at the top of the straight he wasn’t getting beaten.
“We know he can be quite a tricky horse to ride at times, but when he’s asked the question he has a serious turn of foot, which we saw tonight.”
Carrying on the momentum from Almighty Will’s victory, confidence was high at Moonee Valley on Saturday as stable pin-up boy Virtuous Circle tried his luck in the Group 2 Drummond Golf Vase.
Coming into the 2040m race as third favourite, there were high hopes for the three-year-old as he embarked on the second Group 2 race of his career.
Jumping fairly, the Howley-trained galloper settled towards the back of the field.
Searching for an opening with 400m to go, jockey James McDonald kicked him into gear, peeling to the outside for some clean air.
Given the opportunity to push for the line, joined the leaders in the dying stages, but unfortunately ran out of time as he claimed second place, 0.75 lengths behind favourite Berkeley Square.
An incredibly gallant run by the son of Almanzor, the result capped off a marvellous spring preparation that included a victory at the Valley in August, and a pair of Group 2 placings.
Taking to social media on Saturday night, Liam Howley Racing announced the colt would be spelled with an eye towards the autumn.
“Virtuous Circle has come through yesterday’s super effort at the Valley in great order, will head to the paddock now for a well-earned break with our eyes firmly locked on the autumn,” the post read.
“(We are) very proud of him and hungry for what’s to come.”