THE win of lightly raced three-year-old gelding Lake Fergus at Devonport last Sunday came as no surprise to his Spreyton-based trainer Adam Trinder.
Lake Fergus was resuming from a lengthy spell and had no worthwhile form from his two previous starts to warrant any confidence.
But he was specked at odds firming from $21 to start at $12 while his stablemate Sid The Sloth was an easing favourite starting at $3.10.
Sid The Sloth raced outside of the leader and when he kicked clear turning for home it looked as if the former Mick Price-trained three-year-old was finally going to break his maiden status at start number 11.
But Lake Fergus had the weaponry to gun the stablemate down and hit the line a neck clear of Sid The Sloth with Little May a closing third almost a length away.
Lake Fergus had produced an eye-catching trial win prior to his first-up assignment which obviously encouraged punters to invest.
“This horse is a very progressive type and I rate him one of the better horses in the stable,” Trinder said.
“He’s got very good lactate, he is a big bodied horse and I have no doubt he has staying potential.”
“He has got a sprinter’s personality at the moment, in that he wants to get on with things.”
“He is very busy in whatever he does around the stables and on the training track, so we have been riding him back to trey an educate him to lit the line,” he said.
Lake Fergus had his only two starts in December last year and both under lights in Launceston.
Craig Newitt rode the gelding at his second start and gave the gelding a glowing report after finishing seventh of 10 in a three-year-old and upwards maiden over 1200 metres.
“When Craig Newitt got off him last start he said we had a very good horse on our hands and it just confirmed what we thought all along,” Trinder said.
Despite showing a lot of promise, Trinder says the gelding still has a lot to learn.
“We’ve still got a long way to go with this horse to get him to where he needs to be and it is slowly starting to take shape.”
“But in saying that we need to get him out in journey to show his full promise,” he said.
It was a good day at the office for Trinder who prepared four winners on the nine-trace card.
He also saddled up Willow The Wisp to finally break through and win a benchmark 78 handicap over 1650 metres and his exciting two-year-old Valiant Warrior impressed with an all-the-way win on debut.
Valiant Warrior (West Quest-Fast Ride) was purchased by Trinder for $9500 on behalf of one of his prominent owners Wayne Roser, a Sydney magistrate who has a real passion for thoroughbred racing.
The gelding was ridden by Anthony Darmanin who shunted him out of the gates to find a forward position but he easily found the lead and when he the rider gave him a dig 300 metres out he extended his lead over the concluding stages to win by over seven lengths.
Sound Bar was Trinder’s fourth winners for the day with the lightly raced three-year-old making it two wins in succession when he proved too strong for his rivals in a class two handicap over 1350 metres.
With in-form apprentice Bulent Muhcu aboard, Sound Bar settled just off the speed and when the leaders started to capitulate nearing the home turn Muhcu urged Sound Bar forward and the Written Tycoon gelding had no trouble fending off the challengers at the business end of the race.