Automatic Choice, a horse bought for $750, has taken out the Listed Taj Rossi Series Final for trainer Colin Rees.
The youngster is the only horse the 75-year-old has in work at Ballarat and Rees revealed he only went shopping for a weanling after his broodmare didn’t fall pregnant.
Automatic Choice
“I actually bought him because I didn’t get my other mare in foal,” Rees said.
Automatic Choice was sent out at $71 for Saturday’s $120,000 race for two-year-olds and after sitting on the speed for Darren Gauci the gelding held off favourite El Greco to win by a half-head with Flying Light a long head away third.
“I’ve been around for a long time and I have had a winner here before with Gala Wish in the 1980s,” Rees said.
A Warracknabeal winner in May, Automatic Choice was unplaced in two Flemington starts over sprint trips but improved with a distance rise to 1600m on Saturday.
The Listed win continued a good recent run of form for veteran Gauci who rode a double at Caulfield last Saturday.
Gauci picked up the ride on Automatic Choice after John Keating couldn’t make the horse’s weight.
“Lately I’ve been getting on better quality horses which helps,” Gauci said.
“I watched this horse’s tapes from races over 1400 metres and one thing I thought was the mile would be up his alley.
“I’m not saying I thought he could win, but I thought he could run a good race.”
