David Payne thought so much of Bold Circle as a yearling the trainer shelled $100,000 of his own money to buy him.
Some time later many others decided to join in and the large group was on hand to see the colt win at Rosehill on Saturday with the promise of bigger things to come.
Bold Cirlce - Photo by Rachael Hart
The $2.90 favourite for the 1100m Plate for two-year-olds based on his third in the Breeders’ Plate, Bold Circle worked home late to overhaul Sheer Style ($5) to win by a head.
“He is above average,” Payne said.
“I loved him when I first saw him at the Magic Millions and I bought him myself. The others all came in later.”
The $2 million Magic Millions Classic in January is among the options for Bold Circle who is by Darley stallion Bernardini out of Courtyard Circle.
Bold Circle managed to do a few things wrong but got the job done for apprentice Serg Lisnyy who is on loan to Payne at Rosehill for three months.
“Down the straight he came to the line strong, he was always going to win,” Lisnyy said.
“He’s still only young and it was just his second start.
“Mr Payne just wanted me to settle him behind the speed and settle and that’s what I did. It was a really nice run.
“He probably wants more ground, but Mr Payne will decide what he wants to do with him. He’s a really nice horse.”
