On his 30th birthday, trainer Sam Freedman received an unforgettable Group 1 boost from Tropicus.
The son of Too Darn Hot, aged four, captured his initial black-type elite win by eclipsing the field in Saturday’s $750,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) conducted at Caulfield.
Tropicus, the $7.50 chance and reserve for Freedman and co-trainer Anthony behind hot $2.60 pick Point Barrow, delighted with his elite debut, which the trainer sees as a pathway to more.
“He’s a proper horse, he deserves that,” Freedman said.
“As a three-year-old he raced against some of the best, Broadsiding and a few really proper colts.
“He’s got better as an entire and is one of those horses that just trains on and on and on.
“We’ve seen him get better this prep and you wouldn’t rule out him going to another level again.”
Tropicus prevailed under 58.5kg, the highest weight for a Caulfield sprint victor post-1973 metrics, in a race favoring top weights.
Hedged ($20, 59kg) was runner-up 1-1/4 lengths back, with Jedibeel ($18, 58.5kg) fourth, a long-head shy of Gallant Son ($8.50, 52kg) who was third.
For jockey Craig Williams, it was a first-time Oakleigh Plate conquest, following his Futurity Stakes score on Pericles earlier, and he valued the booking.
“I got given a really good gift today,” he said.
“They rang me up early and said, ‘We think he’s the right horse for the race’, my manager agreed, so he gets credit for that.
“Even his jumpouts, that I haven’t been a part of, but watched him, they’ve left the headgear off him and just saved it for the race day today.”
In Newmarket Handicap markets, Tropicus is $11 amid Tentyris dominance, yet Freedman eyes the William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield March 21 instead.
Visit leading betting sites to check betting markets for the race like the Oakleigh Plate.