SMART two-year-old pacer Palmisano is likely to start a warm favourite in the Dandy Patch (sires stakes) final in a fortnight following an impressive win in the Dandy Patch Prelude over 2090 metres at Tattersall’s Park in Hobart on Sunday night.
Palmisano circled the field 1400 metres from home to find the front and from there on in it was a procession with the Brian Stanley-trained gelding going on to score comfortably from the fast-finishing Riverboat Jasper with recent Sweepstakes winner Pachacuti a game third after facing the breeze for most of the race.
Palmisano won his heat of the Sweepstakes series but was denied a chance to win the final because of a minor leg injury acquired in a routine training workout.
But despite missing that run and pulling fiercely early in the race on Sunday night he proved too good for his rivals.
Palmisano (American Ideal-Lucyna) has only been to the races five times for four wins and a second and when he was beaten trainer Stanley said that was probably because he went onto the race in Launceston a bit underdone.
The gelding’s driver Todd Rattray was upbeat about the gelding’s chances in the final.
Listen to what reinsman Todd Rattray had to say about Palmisano’s latest win – click here.