Two-year-old Iconic has close family ties to champion Black Caviar and has played a starring role himself at Bendigo in taking out the $250,000 Vobis Gold Rush.
The well-bred Iconic ($5.50) fended off his rivals in a thrilling finish to the 1000m race at Bendigo’s stand-alone Saturday meeting, holding on to score by a short-head from Hard Stride ($17) and Trust In Gust ($10) who dead-heated for second.
Iconic is a gelding by Black Caviar’s sire Bel Esprit out of Danavia who is a half-sister to Black Caviar’s dam Helsinge.
The victory in the race was also a training triumph for Tony McEvoy who had targeted the event with Iconic for a long time.
“It was the goal all the way through and rarely do they come off,” McEvoy said.
“But things fell into place. The race wouldn’t have wanted to be much further but he got the job done.”
Iconic, ridden by Craig Williams, pressed forward in the big field to sit outside the leader.
He hit the front in the straight but was left to fend off challengers from inside and outside as the field rushed for home.
Hard Stride raced wide throughout and did a big job to finish in a dead-heat for second with Trust In Gust who got up along the inside.
McEvoy said Iconic would be on a float to Sydney on Sunday but the Golden Slipper is not on his agenda.
Iconic will run next in the Group Three Kindergarten Stakes on April 13 at Randwick.
“We decided to duck and weave and go around the big guns,” McEvoy said.
