Steparty (+180) has produced a barnstorming effort to take out the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) on Saturday afternoon, securing favourtism in what's going to be an outstanding edition of the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) in three weeks' time.
The Paul Preusker-trained three-year-old was handled beautifully in a stop-start affair by jockey John Allen, electing to switch-off his mount towards the rear of the field.
It would've been some nervous moments for favourite backers, as the main group of the field took off with 300m to travel, and you'd be forgiven for thinking Southport Tycoon (+800) and Scentify (+900) would be fighting out the finish.
It wasn't until the 200m pole John Allen asked for a supreme effort from Steparty, and he delivered in kind, going on to score an amazing victory at Caulfield.
It's now full steam ahead to what should be a mouthwatering edition of the Caulfield Guineas, with many of these horses likely to clash again, and perhaps even some Sydney form thrown into the mix after the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m).
2023 Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude – Steparty | T: Paul Preusker | J: John Allen
Paul Preusker was delighted with the victory, and suggested a tough mile should suit Steparty with his scintillating turn-of-foot sure to cause problems for his rivals.
“He's got a boom turn-of-foot,” said Preusker.
“I've seen it over the years for me on my farm, I've never seen a horse with a 400m (sprint) on him like this fellow.
“He used that today with a bit of pressure and he stood up.
John Allen spoke about the undefeated colt in his post-race assessment and admitted he thought he may have been too negative on the son of Artie Schiller.
“I thought it was a good win to be honest,” said Allen.
“He jumped well enough, but they hunted up inside me and I didn't want to fire him up too much with bigger targets in a few weeks' time. I elected to come back, and I was probably too negative and got too far out of my ground.
“Luckily, he was good enough, came back and relaxed.
“Then I had to get going cause they didn't go overly quick and they got racing early, so he needed to make a long run and thankfully he was good enough.
“I liked that last furlong.
“He was entitled to maybe empty, but when he heard that horse coming to his outside, he really found the line.”
Steparty is now a (+300) chance in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas on October 14.