vastly improved Affirmation will travel to Sydney for Group races after an easy Caulfield win on Saturday.
Affirmation raced as colt when fifth to the subsequent Group One winner Peggy Jean on debut at Randwick in January, a performance that prompted trainer Tony McEvoy to geld the two-year-old.
The Not A Single Doubt youngster resumed with a win in Adelaide before maintaining his unbeaten record as a gelding with a strong win in the Grand Hotel Frankston Handicap (1400m).
Affirmation, Mark Zahra
Affirmation struggled to stay in touch with the front-runners but managed to find his rhythm when the pace slowed in the middle stages.
Mark Zahra eased Affirmation to the outside in the straight before his finishing sprint got him home comfortably over Club Star and Our Kaboom, convincing the jockey of a bright future.
“He’s really smart. Definitely a Group horse,” Zahra said.
“I was off the bit early then they slowed up and gave me a chance to travel.
“I went from flat out catching them to having them covered a long way out.”
McEvoy’s representative John Cornell said Affirmation would be on a float to Sydney on Sunday to prepare for the Group Three Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) at Randwick on August 23.
Cornell said McEvoy had not ruled out aiming Affirmation at the Group One Golden Rose at Rosehill on September 13.
The Mick Price-trained Berlutti firmed from $3 to start as a $2.80 favourite but weakened over the last 100m to finish fourth.
“He was just too keen in the run. I don’t know if he goes for a break or drops back to 1200 (metres),” Berlutti’s rider Craig Newitt said.
