Glenall makes ideal first impression

Glenall strode into the winners’ stall at the first attempt for Hawkes Racing, as the lightly-raced sprinter made a successful return at Rosehill.

The four-year-old transferred from Les Bridge’s stable in April after finishing fourth in the Group One Galaxy and proved too strong for his rivals in the Boxing Day At Royal Randwick Sprint (1100m).

Glenall ($5) wound up effectively to pip Tactical Advantage ($4.60) by a long head while Ziggy Willie ($26) was a length adrift in third.

Although co-trainer Michael Hawkes was aware of Glenall’s form there was no substitute for seeing him race after two encouraging trials.

“He’s always had the score on the board with Redzel and Russian Revolution (in the Galaxy),” Hawkes said.

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“You can look at its form and its races but when it’s all said and done we really wanted to see him do it,” Hawkes said.

He said there were no specific plans for Glenall after the second win of his six-race career.

“We just wanted to get him back to the races and get him in winning form,” Hawkes said.

“He’ll take a lot of benefit out of it and he’s in at the right time. He’s got the class edge but he’s still learning too.”

Hawkes praised Brenton Avdulla for a composed ride.

“Brenton gave him a really good ride and did everything right. The horse still wanted to get a little bit lost in the straight but Brenton didn’t panic and nursed him,” Hawkes said.