He arrived in Brisbane with huge wraps and gun Sydney galloper Mental delivered at Doomben on Saturday.
Having his eighth race start, Mental made light work of his opposition with a dominant win in the $150,000 Fred Best Classic (1350m) to set up a tilt at the Stradbroke Handicap on June 9.
Confidently ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, Mental ($1.80) travelled midfield and proceeded to stride away in the straight to record a 1-1/2 length win over Victorian visitor Amah Rock ($8) with Boys On Tour ($15) the same margin third.
Mental has 50.5kg in the Stradbroke and winning trainer Peter Snowden said he would try to get a penalty by winning the Queensland Guineas the week before the $1 million sprint.
“It’s two weeks from now until the Guineas and then another week until the Stradbroke and I think the back-up will be perfect for him,” Snowden said.
“I’ve really looked after this little horse and cuddled him a bit and he showed us what we needed to see today.
“He has a dynamic turn of foot as he showed when Kerrin asked him to go and he can take the next step to top class.
“He’s always excited me with what he can do on the training track. Even when I work him by himself he does special things and he is an exciting horse.”
McEvoy concurred with Snowden’s assessment but said the horse needed to amend his barrier manners when he got to the elite level.
“He’s not a great beginner and is always a bit slow out and we’ll have to correct that,” McEvoy said.
“But he’s got the ability to overcome that and he won quite easily.
“He cruised along nicely for me during the run and he really let go when I asked him to let down.”
Mental took his record to five wins from eight starts and a win in the Guineas should earn him a 2kg penalty and get him a start in the Stradbroke.
