HnR-bred Appeared won the Chandon Handicap over 2400 metres at Rosehill Gardens on September 12, beating Kenmare Bay by 1.98 lengths as the $2.20 favourite under Dylan Gibbons for Bjorn Baker. It was his third win from three Australian starts, his fourth from six career starts, and his first at Sydney Saturday grade. He wore winkers for the first time.
The Race
Five went to post in the Benchmark 78 handicap for three-year-olds and up after Unbelievable, Foire De Trone and Michelangelo were scratched, on a Good 4 surface under clear sky with the rail out five metres. Appeared carried 57.5kg from barrier 3.
The plan going in was to roll along in front and keep building. Chris Waller sent Seo Linn forward instead, and the Irish mare set a genuine tempo, which handed Gibbons the one thing a stayer wants. He landed further back than intended, took the trail in third on the fence, and left him there to the 400 metres, then came off the turn with running and went past.
The margin was 1.98 lengths over Kenmare Bay, with Spacetime Legend a further 0.07 back in third at $81. Golden Century was fourth at 7.51 lengths and Seo Linn, who had made the race, dropped away to finish 16.52 lengths from the winner. The final time was 2:29.37 with a closing 600 metres of 36.69.
The winner’s share was A$82,500 of the A$160,000 purse.
The Winkers
Appeared has always had the engine. Getting him to use it before he decides to has been the whole project since he landed. Baker added winkers for this start and every person who touched the horse pointed at them afterward.
“We probably landed a touch further back than we initially thought, but when they were intent on rolling along, I was happy to take the trail. He switched off nicely and got a really good run throughout.”
“The winkers helped him travel a bit better today, and he didn’t hit quite the same flat spot that he has before. He took less riding. At his two previous starts, he wouldn’t go until I pulled the stick.”
“He’s still quite a raw and immature horse. When I asked him to build, it took him a little while to work through his gears, but once he balanced up, he was very strong through the line.”
Luke Hilton, representing the stable with Baker away from the track, made the same read from the grandstand.
“He’s going to outstay a lot of horses. Dylan knows how sluggish he can be sometimes, and when he was riding with so much confidence I thought he must have some horse underneath him. He was a lot sharper with the winkers on today, so they’ve done the trick.”
“Three wins is not easy to do for these Europeans, to acclimatise immediately, but he’s done a great job and obviously he’s getting better every time. He’s creeping up in the ratings now and he’s been able to put three together, and it’s a pretty hard thing to do.”
Three Grades in Five Weeks
The thing worth sitting with is the ladder. Newcastle on August 13 was a provincial Class 1 and Maiden Plate. Warwick Farm on September 2 was a midweek metropolitan handicap. Rosehill on September 12 was a Saturday in Sydney, which is the grade that counts, and he won all three inside five weeks in his first Australian preparation.
Imported stayers do not usually do this. The convention is that a European needs a preparation to find its feet, runs respectably, goes to the paddock, and comes back the following year as the horse you paid for. Appeared skipped that step.
“What a super win. That is his best win here in Australia, and as you can see, the winkers being applied certainly helped him with those flat spots. It did not quite go to script. The plan was to roll along in front and keep building, but there was a tactics change from the Waller camp and they led up at a good tempo. That certainly gave us a great tag into the race.”
“The best bit about it is that despite being three from three, Dylan still describes him as immature and still working it all out. There is plenty of upside. This is a big feat. It is bigger than you probably realise. To go three from three in his first racing preparation in Australia is huge.”
The Family
Appeared is a Kentucky-bred son of Justify out of HnR’s millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner Living The Life (IRE). HnR bred him and foaled him at Ashford Stud in Versailles. Coolmore bought him as a weanling at Fasig-Tipton November for $285,000 and offered him at Saratoga the following year, where Peter Brandt bought in at $600,000. He won a 2400-metre maiden at the Curragh last October for Aidan O’Brien, and Darby Racing acquired him for 120,000 guineas at Tattersalls in the autumn of 2025 with HnR coming back in as a part-owner.
His full sister is HnR-bred Living Magic, a multiple stakes winner on dirt, all-weather and turf, who sells in foal to first-crop champion Citizen Bull at Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale this fall. Justify over Footstepsinthesand has now produced three foals of racing age, two starters and two winners, both of them black-type or better, and the brother has won at 2400 metres in Ireland and at 1880, 2200 and 2400 metres in Australia.
What Happens Next
“I think the further he gets, the better he’s going to be. He’s three from three here now and is still learning what it’s all about, so there’s plenty of improvement left in him. He’s a lovely horse and a very promising stayer.”
“I don’t know what the plans are for the horse, but I told them it wouldn’t hurt if he went to the paddock now, as he’s done a great job.”
Nobody is reaching for a stakes race. Darby put two options on the table afterward: give the horse a break and bring him back in the autumn, or find one more benchmark race before he goes out. Baker will make the call.
Appeared is 4-0-1 from six starts, unbeaten in three Australian runs, and rated higher on Saturday night than he was on Saturday morning.