The application of blinkers has done the trick on lightly raced two-year-old Ringbolt who has given trainer Tony McEvoy his fourth SA Sires’ Produce Stakes in the past eight years.
McEvoy won the Group Three 1400m race for two-year-olds with Modern Tsar (2013), Time Awaits (2017) and She Shao Fly (2019) and added another on Saturday at Morphettville, this time in partnership with his son Calvin.
Ringbolt had finished fourth in a 1050m maiden at Balaklava on debut late last month when he raced greenly and the McEvoys opted to apply blinkers to the gelding for his second start on Saturday on the Morphettville Parks track.
After beginning well under jockey John Allen, Ringbolt ($26) settled outside the eventual leader, stablemate Violinist ($11), before edging clear of that filly in the straight to score by 1-1/4 lengths, giving the McEvoy stable the quinella.
Crown Mint ($6.50) was another half a length away third while $2.35 favourite Ecumenical finished fifth.
“He was a bit of a drunken sailor at Balaklava and we elected to go with the blinkers,” Calvin McEvoy said.
“We only really gave him one bit of work in them and he just pinged out of the gates today and was always on the bridle for Johnny. He was very strong.
“He’s got a lot of upside. He’s just going to get better and better when he gets a little bit older and probably out to a mile.”
McEvoy said Violinist stuck on well considering she had to work forward under Damien Thornton to lead after she was going to be trapped deep early.
Allen had watched the replay of Ringbolt’s debut and even though he was beaten the jockey was taken by the performance.
“He looked like a horse that was really going to improve from the run and so it proved,” Allen said.
“He was a different horse today. Blinkers on. He was a lot sharper and knew his job a bit better.”