Another smart European stayer showed he had the ability to rise a lot higher in local ranks when Le Roi won the CFV Great Strides Handicap at Caulfield on Saturday.
And for his trainer Tony McEvoy the victory added to a string of successes that he hopes to turn into more important wins this time next year.
Le Roi winning the The CFV Great Strides Handicap at Caulfield - photo by Race Horse Photos Australia (Steven Dowden)
Starting favourite, Le Roi ($3.30), a German-bred whose only European start was a win in France, proved far too classy for his opposition, clearing out for a 2-3/4 length defeat of Tai Tai Tess ($3.80).
Muirfield ($4.60) finished a further long neck away in third.
McEvoy will now tackle Group Three company in the Summer Cup (2400m) at Rosehill in Sydney on Boxing Day before putting Le Roi away for the summer.
“I’m building up a nice team for next spring, raising the quality of the team,” McEvoy said.
The McEvoy team includes the other imported gallopers Sysmo, Saint Desir and Mouro who all made their Australian debuts this season.
The win also proved a bonus for jockey Glen Boss who took over from McEvoy’s stable rider Matthew Neilson who the trainer has restricted to “domestic” duties in South Australia following an incident at Moonee Valley last Saturday.
Neilson weighed in more than 1kg overweight on Mouro who finished a close second.
McEvoy reacted to what he described as a “lack of professionalism” by barring Neilson from riding interstate.
“You could say I’m feeling pretty good at the moment,” McEvoy said.
“And my Adelaide jockey is feeling pretty bad.”
