Baraqiel dominates McEwen | RACING.COM

Baraqiel cruised to a stunning victory in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes on Cox Plate Day at The Valley, leaving his rivals in his wake on the flat.

The Bennett Racing-owned galloper took until the age of five to make his debut but has raced seven more times since then for an overall career record of 8:6-0-2 after winning his first four starts at final.

Saturday was his first meeting in Stakes grade, but he was more than up to the task – honestly, he was the long-distance winner from home.

Baraqiel got to Oscar’s Fortune ($3.50) before the turn and the race was over from there, with Troy and Leon Corstens and Will Larkin beaten in last place, even though he took control.

I Am Unstoppable was second, 2.75 lengths adrift, and Mornington Glory ($9) offered some resistance to finish third, while The Inferno ran on in fourth, but the race it was for minors only.

Watch: Baraqiel’s victory

It was a hugely satisfying win for Larkin, who has watched the Baraqiel saga unfold from the start, including a period when Troy Corstens paid for rehab after yet another pre-debut setback.

“I’ve always had a good opinion of him, but he’s got to go to the circuit and do it,” he said.

“Going through these things was taking us back – failure after failure… we just had to keep going and there was a time there where the owners were ready to give up on everything.

“It was good for Troy, he said, ‘I’m going to do the rehab myself and get him up and going because you’re not losing this one.’

“He (Baraqiel) is pretty special.”

Watch: Hear from Larkin after the race

The win qualifies Baraqiel for the $1 million Meteorite slot race on Cranbourne Cup Day, but the team may have slightly bigger ambitions going forward.

The $3 million Sprint of Champions, which runs at Flemington over a fortnight, could instead be where Baraqiel lines up.

“When you’re running for an award like that, it’s definitely exciting, so it’s a good concept that they put in, Southside Racing,” Larkins said.

“It will be an option but I think because of that, a Group 1 will probably be at the forefront of our minds at the moment.

“But wherever he goes it’s exciting – you look at the calendar, there’s so many good races for him and to sit there and put a line around a big Group 1 like that is pretty special.”

Watch: Hear from Allen after the race