David Pires rides Tassie raider Lord da Vinci to victory (Image: Racing Photos)
Tasmanian trainers continued their brilliant off-season form in Melbourne at The Valley on Saturday when rejuvenated galloper Lord da Vinci scored a tenacious win over 1200m for Scott Brunton.
The comfortable one-length win for regular jockey David Pires came only a week after fellow Tasmanian Tshahitsi posted a four-length win at Flemington and several months after stable mate Hellova Street cruised to Stakes success in Melbourne.
While trainer Brunton held pre-race concerns about how the gelding travelled during the week and how his form would stack up on the mainland, these were quickly alleviated when the six-year-old put his rivals to the sword with a sustained display of speed.
“I was worried about it (the travel) and I certainly don’t think he was at his best today but he’s got the job done courtesy of a terrific ride and the right run in transit,” Brunton said.
“You work hard at home and you believe you’ve got the right product but you get over here and look at them in the yard and their hair is two inches long and you look at the Melbourne horses which look a million dollars.
“But they can’t see the V8 under the bonnet.
“He’s a terrific galloper and I’ve got nothing but respect for the horse because he’s had a fair few problems.”
WATCH: Lord da Vinci's classy win
After beginning his racing career in Mornington with Sam Pritchard-Gordon, the son of Lonhro was transferred to Brunton’s Seven Mile Beach stable 12 months ago and has now won seven of his 10 starts for the respected Tasmanian horseman.
Brunton said the change of environment had agreed with the horse and suggested the stable’s decision to try the galloper as an on-pace sprinter has been one of the keys to unlocking his ability.
“He’s got issues but the beach life certainly suits him,” Brunton said.
“We’ve had him for nine or ten runs for six wins and a couple of placings so he’s been awesome over there (Tasmania) against some very good gallopers.
“If you go back through his form, the horse was ridden cold a lot and got home fantastic but we’ve found that he still seems to run the same sectionals when he rolls forward so he’s got great ability.
While there are several black-type options in Melbourne for Lord da Vinci later in the season, Brunton suggested the gelding was likely to return to Tasmania for a spell.
“There’s a weight for age race at Caulfield but I’m probably leaning to sending him to the paddock,” he said.
“He’ll bounce back but we’ll just take our time.”