STAR Tasmanian two-year-old Grand Tycoon kept his unbeaten record intact when he scored arguably his best win in the $100,000 Shaw Contracting Gold Sovereign Stakes over 1200 metres in Launceston.
The Barry Campbell-trained gelding had not been tested beyond 1100 metres and there were some doubters who believed his winning streak would be curtailed by interstate invader Gracious Prospect that was backed in to start the $2.40 favourite.
The weight of money for the David Hayes-trained colt was so strong that Grand Tycoon’s odds drifted from $2.50 to $3.40.
Grand Tycoon settled just off the speed but was always travelling comfortably under the guidance of top jockey Brendon McCoull while Gracious Prospect was caught three-wide without cover for the first half of the race.
When McCoull called on Grand Tycoon (Written Tycoon-Scotattitude) to sprint at the top of the straight the pint-sized gelding forged to the lead.
While Grand Tycoon looked certain to be headed twice over the final 100 metres he refused to give in and hit the line a half-neck clear of Geegees velvet with her stablemate Gee Gees Style the same margin away third.
Gracious Prospect (Robert Thompson) finished a distant fourth after his tough run.
Campbell was full of praise for his star juvenile.
“He’s been up since October and he’s kept going strong. He is quite an amazing little horse,” Campbell said.
“He’s tough and just wants to win and we saw that today,” he said.
The trainer wasn’t sure if Grand Tycoon would ever win a race.
“After we had him broken in we thought he had potential but he didn’t grow much so we were just hoping he might be able to win one race.”
“As the season progressed he just took every race in his stride and now he’s unbeaten from six starts and he’s won both $100,000 listed races and the Alfa Bowl – he’s a marvel,” he said.
Grand Tycoon has am amassed almost $200,000 in prizemoney from his six victories but that could grow closer to $300,000 if he can with two more feature races in May.
“I’ll give him a freshen up and see how he is but he will most likely tackle the next two feature two-year-old aces in Hobart and then go for a decent spell,” Campbell said.
Grand Tycoon is owned by Charlie and Wendy Langmaid who paid only $16,000 for the gelded son of Written Tycoon.