Two-year-old Fontiton could hardly have been more impressive in a six-length debut win at Moonee Valley.
But trainer Robert Smerdon is convinced the best is yet to come.
Smerdon said he never expected Fontiton to be an early two-year-old but the daughter of Turrfontein had taken everything in her stride during her first preparation so he kept pressing on.
Fontiton
The youngster started $3 favourite in Saturday’s $250,000 Inglis Banner (1000m) and trounced her rivals after beginning quickly to lead and then she surged clear turning for home.
Mark Zahra eased Fontiton down but she had six lengths to spare on the Liam Birchley-trained Hot Snippety ($5.50) with a half neck to Braccenby ($17) third.
“I know it sounds cliched when they win and you say `she’ll be better later’, but you’d like to think as a three-year-old this time next year that she’s running 1600 metres and maybe she’s a really nice Thousand Guineas filly,” Smerdon said.
“We never planned to be here. As talented as she showed us she was, we never actually thought she was an early two-year-old.”
With the win in the rich race Sales-restricted race on Saturday, Fontiton has already recouped more than her purchase price of $110,000.
Smerdon said the Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup carnival could be the filly’s next target.
Liam Birchley said Hot Snippety would head to a sales-restricted race in Sydney in December.
He knew the filly had the task ahead coming into Saturday.
“I saw her (the winner) trial on Monday and knew then it would be hard,” Birchley said.
