Hidden Motive didn’t blow away his rivals, but he got the job done in the opening event at Randwick, setting the stage for a spring campaign aimed at a Group 1 target.
The $1.65 betting sites favourite secured his second career win from five starts with a narrow nose victory over outsider Kujenga ($81) in the Precise Air Handicap (1100m). Matima ($3.80) was close behind in third, another long head away in a tight finish.
Jockey Ash Morgan said Hidden Motive showed real heart, especially after being pressured early by Dubbo Boy.
“Probably that first ten or fifteen metres he was a little switched off, but I let him roll up, then that horse came to him and we just fired each other up a little bit,” Morgan said.
“It was a really good win. I know it was a very small margin but he was entitled to get beaten.”
Trainer Nathan Doyle was in Brisbane overseeing Churchill’s Choice in the Queensland Oaks, so part-owner Sean Driver of Kurrinda Bloodstock was on hand and confirmed the colt would now head to the paddock for a break.
The team has high hopes for Hidden Motive, aiming him at the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington in the spring.
“He’s a four to five-lengths better horse than what we saw today,” Driver said.
“The big aim is the Coolmore (Stud Stakes). He will have two weeks off but as you can see he was fourth-up today and he’s still a big, burly looking colt so he will be on a strict diet.
“Wait until you see him on top of the ground. At home, what he’s shown us, he is absolutely electric.”
The son of Capitalist was a $120,000 buy at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale after being passed in for $200,000. Driver said there were early concerns, but his faith in Doyle’s training skills paid off.
“He had moderate sesamoiditis but Nathan is such a good trainer and I was confident he would manage the colt,” Driver said.
“As it turned out he was in the first two-year-old race of the season. He’s far better than what he showed today.
“He over-raced, he got pestered in front and did a bit of work there. He will improve a lot.”
Doyle and Morgan went on to score a race-to-race double with Hellfire Express winning the Midway Handicap (1500m) 35 minutes later.
For futures betting on the Coolmore Stud Stakes or to follow Hidden Motive’s progress, explore top odds and early markets at the best betting sites in Australia.
