Just a swift check of Athanatos’s history alerted Kerrin McEvoy that he held a real shot in the $500,000 The Coast, proven correct as the interstate challenger proved too tough to pass.

The elite rider had not previously partnered the four-year-old gelding, but his near-two-length defeat when runner-up to fourth against Transatlantic in last spring’s Toorak Handicap (1600m) suggested to McEvoy that repeating it would secure a placing at worst.

“I was pretty confident when I got the booking and looked at his runs,” McEvoy said.

“I gave ‘Stokesy’ (trainer Phillip Stokes) a call yesterday and he backed it up. He said, ‘he’s in good form’. “

“I got confidence out of the fact the last time he went to the mile was in the Toorak, and as we know it’s a competitive handicap, a Group One, and he wasn’t beaten far.”

Starting from midfield on Saturday, McEvoy kept Athanatos ($11) close to the speedsters, with the gelding powering home in the final stages to beat front-runner Sarrismo ($2.90 fav) by a length.

Grand Omaha ($51) filled third, half a neck adrift.

At Morphettville for the Goodwood program, Stokes explained how connections selected Saturday’s The Coast (1600m) at Gosford as a key trial en route to the Five Diamonds (1800m) in Sydney later in the year.

“Next prep we’re going to aim up for that,” Stokes told Racing And Sports.

“This was a big prizemoney race, and the owners will be wrapped.

“I’m getting a bit of a handle on Sydney now. It’s something we want to explore more and have more of a presence up there, so it’s important to identify horses to send up.

“He might be a horse we now have to look at Brisbane with.”

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