Brenton Avdulla thought Silverball was the class horse in Saturday’s Kingston Town Stakes and rode him accordingly to land the first two races on Golden Rose day.
Having lifted Herne’s Oak to a narrow win in the opening race, a confident Avdulla was happy to give former Hong Kong galloper Silverball plenty of galloping room and trusted the horse’s ability to do the rest.
“I was confident so I rode him like the best horse in the race and he beat them,” Avdulla said.
“I was confident that if he was within six (lengths) of them at the three (furlongs) he’d beat them.
“They went slow and kicked away from him but his class kicked in at the furlong.”
Starting a $1.95 favourite, Silverball settled worse than midfield and wound up down the centre of the track to deny Maurus ($6.50) by a half length with Victorian Foundry ($12) a long head away third.
Winning trainer Chris Waller won the race last year with He’s Your Man who went on to claim the Epsom Handicap but he indicated Silverball would step up in distance to the 2400m of the Group One Metropolitan.
“The race was never over until the last 100 metres but he was strong on the line,” Waller said.
“To me, he looks more like a Metropolitan horse. He’s got three weeks between runs so I’ve got to make sure I get him a little bit fitter before the run but at this stage, Metropolitan.
“We won’t completely rule out the Epsom but it’s doubtful at this stage.”
