The Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr team has uncovered a potential staying prospect in Engine Of War, who broke through with a narrow but impressive win at Sandown.

The New Zealand-bred gelding is being aimed at the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington in November after scoring first-up in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Plate (1500m) on Wednesday.

Having his first start for the stable after being purchased by My Racehorse and other clients, Engine Of War ($4.80) dug deep under Mark Zahra to hold off There Were Roses ($26) by a nose, with King Maywin ($5) finishing a length away in third.

Kent Jnr admitted it was a heart-stopping result but was pleased with the way the big, raw gelding stuck to his task.

“He looked to get to the front fairly easily and then he didn’t know how to put the race away,” Kent Jnr said. “He’s all legs and hopefully he will stay. He looks like he should, so fingers crossed.”

The stable had been tracking Engine Of War since his maiden placing in New Zealand earlier this year, before joining forces with My Racehorse to secure him. After a short spell, he was prepared for a Derby campaign with Wednesday’s debut win his first stepping stone.

“He’s got to do everything right, but like most horses in this field, they were all possibly touted as a Derby type, so we’ll be aiming that way as well,” Kent Jnr said.

Zahra, who partnered the gelding in a Cranbourne jump-out, was taken by his action and scope.

“He’s got a big stride on him, and I was looking for the right room at the right time and I was able to get it,” Zahra said. “He’s a horse that is going to want ground, but I think as the distances increase and the tempo gets slower, he will be able to travel for longer.”

Punters can follow Engine Of War’s progress towards the Victoria Derby and other spring features through Australia’s leading betting sites.