It may not have thrilled punters who were chasing the favourites, but Eternal Warrior made a stunning debut with a boilover victory in Saturday’s $175,000 Listed Merson Cooper Stakes at Caulfield.
Sent out a $41 chance, the Lloyd Kennewell-trained colt charged late under Zac Spain to edge out fellow outsider Stretan Ruler ($16) in the 1000-metre feature.
The son of first-season sire Extreme Warrior had produced two encouraging trial seconds leading into his debut, and despite Lloyd Kennewell being in Tokyo for the Japan Cup, the stable remained upbeat about his chances.
“He’s probably doing some shopping and watching the race, it’s fantastic,” Kennewell’s father Gary, overseeing the stable in his absence, said.
“He gave a good kick and Zac just rode him a treat. He put him into the race and he finished off.”
Kennewell Snr indicated the barn will now consider a trip north for the $3m Magic Millions 2YO Classic on January 17, with Eternal Warrior bought for $80,000 and boasting a pedigree linked to Alinghi through his dam Devout Hero.
The colt played up before the start and was slow from the wide draw, but mustered quickly, tracking into the race strongly before finishing over the top of Stretan Ruler to score by a half-head.
Favourite Alibaba, who drifted to $5.50, endured a tough run after being held up for most of the straight and still managed to finish a respectable third, 1-1/4 lengths from the winner.
Spain said Eternal Warrior’s rawness is still evident, but the result showed how much talent he possesses.
“I liked his turn of foot today, I thought he trialled up really well, but you have to show that race day under race day pressure,” Spain said.
“I didn’t think I was going to get past Lachie (Neindorf, on Stretan Ruler), his horse was very brave, but the more I got stuck into my bloke, the more he picked up.”
The victory also extended the impressive early strike rate of Extreme Warrior, who now has two winners from just four runners at the track.
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