Trainer Mat Ellerton will reluctantly take on star colt Sepoy with Hot Spin after the gelding made it two straight wins at Caulfield on Saturday.
“We might have a run in the Vain. I know Sepoy runs in it but what do you do. He’s here and now so he may as well run over the 1100 metres around here,” Ellerton, who trains Hot Spin in partnership with his cousin Simon Zahra, said.
“If he can run second that’ll be good.”
The Darley-owned and Peter Snowden-trained Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper winner Sepoy won an 800m trial at Werribee on Friday in preparation for the Listed Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 13.
Hot Spin, a Spinning World gelding, was narrowly beaten when runner-up to Bad Parent over 1100m when resuming in a Wodonga two-year-old maiden on July 2.
But he improved on that to win over 1000m at Caulfield on July 16 and repeated the dose in the Dean McNeill Hcp (1000m) on Saturday.
Ridden by Andrew Mallyon, Hot Spin ($3.70 fav) sat off first starter Snitzem, who began brilliantly from the outside barrier, before forging clear and holding off Kid Kobe by a long neck with Snitzem the same margin away third.
Hot Spin has now won twice and been placed in three of his six starts.
He was runner-up to Golden Archer over 1100m at Flemington on debut and third to that colt over 1000m at Caulfield last December.
“He’s got a preparation under his belt and he’s had a good bit of seasoning,” Ellerton said.
“He’s a laid-back sort of a horse who won’t have any problems running 1200 metres.”
Mallyon said Hot Spin was still improving and would be a better horse at 1200m.
“He relaxes well and he’s a push-button horse to ride and I just think he’ll improve again once he gets the extra distance,” he said.
AAP TURF
