Exciting New Zealand import Carbonados kept his unblemished career record intact with an impressive Australian debut at Geelong.
The Belardo gelding began his career in the New Plymouth stable of Allan Sharrock, and he made a huge impression with a five-length victory on debut on his home track in May of last year. Runner-up Chantilly Lace has since been a multiple Listed winner and Group Three placegetter.
Carbonados was subsequently sold to clients of Lindsay Park trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes, who were quickly impressed by what their new recruit showed them in trackwork and trials. Saturday marked his long-awaited Australian debut, and Carbonados did not disappoint.
Ridden by Luke Currie, the three-year-old broke quickly from gate four and settled in second behind the front-running Spicy Margs. That rival kicked strongly at the top of the Geelong straight and provided a brief scare, but Currie released the brakes on Carbonados and he drew past to win by a length and a quarter under a hands-and-heels ride.
“He’s pretty push-button,” Currie said. “He’s still doing a few things wrong – he’s a bit hot and worked up today. Deeper into his preparation, I reckon he’ll settle down and keep improving.
“He jumped well and just cruised along behind the leader with no real problems. He just took a little while to pick up. He was just looking around and is still a bit green and raw. But it was nice that he had that horse to chase. He chased it and put it away nicely in the end. He’s a nice horse going places.”
JD Hayes suggested that Carbonados could step into black-type company for the Group 3 Manfred Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on January 26.
“That performance was really pleasing to see,” Hayes said. “He’s shown a lot of potential, as everyone would have seen in his overseas form and at the trials.
“Luke gave him a good ride today. It was nice to see him pull out to the middle of the track and come away with a good victory.
“We’ve got some good owners – you’ll see he’s in those Rupert Legh colours, and there are a number of other great clients involved too. They’ve backed us in. He had a pretty nice price tag alongside him after he won so emphatically in New Zealand. There’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but this win is a good start.
“We’ll take things one step at a time with him, but a race like the Manfred in a few weeks’ time could be a nice target for him.”