The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained California Deeply got the gaps late to cruise to a debut victory at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
Having been a comfortable winner of a three-horse Randwick trial in November, the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained California Deeply was a well-supported second elect when on debut over 1100m.
Jumping on terms, the two-year-old colt was urged along in the early going by jockey Kerrin McEvoy and wasted little time in crossing to hold a spot leader’s back on the fence.
Travelling in a similar spot throughout, McEvoy encountered some difficulty when rounding the home-turn as he was unable to edge his mount out to attain a clear passage.
Biding their time in restricted room between runners, the gaps for the pair didn’t eventuate until passing the 100m. When clear the son of Deep Field let down forcefully in a last-ditch dash to the finish.
Quickly finding the front, the two-year-old went to the line under hands and heels for a half-length victory.
Co-trainer Peter Snowden was pleased with the colt’s efforts and constitution, suggesting a trip north in the new year is a definite possibility.
“He’s a nice little horse, very push-button,” Snowden said.
“He was fairly forward, certainly not screwed right down but enough to run well today and he did that.
“You like to see a bit of grit at the end of a race and he showed that today.
“There’s definitely improvement in the horse, he’s only a little nuggety bloke but he’s very genuine.
“He’s a Magic Millions colt so who knows, it’s a good start anyways.”
Equally as impressed with the debut performance, McEvoy was full of praise for the colt.
“He’s got a good attitude and he’s a nicely built colt that moves really well,” McEvoy said.
“I thought the Waterhouse and Bott horse had really dashed on us at the top of the lane but full credit to my fellow, I gave him a couple of taps and away he went. He picked up noticeably well.
“There’s good improvement to come out of him, I’m sure.”
McEvoy fell narrowly short of scoring an early double for the Snowden duo, collared late on the line by Godolphin runner Kanazawa in race two.
