Trainer Nick Ryan decided to debut Doubt Time at Caulfield after a convincing midweek gallop at Flemington.
The stable was also keen to support the two-year-old gelding, which saw a significant market shift from $31 to $8 before it secured a victory in the Stow Robotics Handicap (1100m) on Saturday.
With apprentice Luke Cartwright in the saddle, Doubt Time triumphed by a nose over the $3.50 favourite Resolutely, with Stakes ($5) a further 1-¾ lengths back.
The colt, a son of Doubtland who was a dual Stakes winner before retiring to stud, was ridden conservatively by Cartwright before unleashing a strong finishing run.
“He’s very much like his father,” Ryan stated. “His father won his first start on a Soft 7 at Kensington, and he came from back and swamped them.”
“We trialled here last week, and then I galloped him on Thursday morning on the inside grass at Flemington. I pushed the button a little bit in the last 50 (metres) and I nearly fell off the back of him. The penny has finally dropped, and I said to Luke to keep him in your hands, bounce, squeeze, travel, and if you’re a bit back, don’t panic.”
“He’s got an 8.05 metre stride on the data, and he’s not fully developed and I said it’s very important for you to get room to the outside. He’s never had one with the whip, and when you shake him up, he’s going to launch, whether that’s running home to finish fourth or fifth, or winning, I had a feeling of what he was going to do.”
Ryan indicated that the gelding would not be rushed back to the track and would likely be sent for a spell.
“He’s two, so we’ll have to see how he is in the morning, how his shins are,” Ryan added. “He’ll definitely be in the paddock next week, for how long, I don’t know. He’s had three jump-outs and two trials, and he had come here (Caulfield) twice. I did dual accept for Wodonga on Sunday, but we were always coming here, so we’ll see how he pulls up, but that was pretty impressive.”
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