TALENTED sprinter Tennessee Drive delivered a sound warning that he could be a serious contender for this season’s Newmarket Handicap with a resounding win in the Tapeta Sprint Prelude over 1000 metres at Spreyton yesterday.
With talented apprentice Kyle Maskiell aboard, Tennessee Drive came from near last turning for home to score an emphatic win, defeating Sound Bar and Classic Outlaw.
The troy Blacker-trained gelding is a Tapeta track specialist as he has had eight starts on the synthetic surface for six wins with this latest effort sure to earn him a bunch of rating points that could put him on 80-plus points which would ensure he gained a start in the Newmarket.
Blacker was thrilled with this latest effort.
“He had a light weight but he was still taking on some very god sprinters and to win with such authority was brilliant,” Blacker said.
“We’ll come back to Devonport in a fortnight and see where we go from there but obviously the Newmarket is his ultimate goal.”
“Whether he gets there (Newmarket) this time in will depend on how he gets through his next start or two,” he said.