Connections had a few anxious moments but jockey Blake Shinn knew what he was doing before winning the Group Three Gunsynd Classic on Gem Song at Eagle Farm.
Shinn had planned to ride Gem Song like the best horse in the race and that is how it panned out.
Gem Song ($1.60) came away to beat Starkers ($17) by 2-3/4 lengths with three-quarters of a length to Bell Roc ($17) in third.
Gem Song, as a Sydney stakes race winner, looked to have lengths on the field and trainer Kris Lees had hoped to test the gelding by riding him back in the race.
But Gem Song ended up fourth behind the pace and Brilliant Mind shot clear on the turn it looked for about 100m the favourite might have been left flat-footed.
But once Shinn let him go Gem Song raced home to confirm he is a possible Group One Queensland Derby horse on June 8.
“They went slow early and I ended up a lot closer than I planned. I knew what I had under me in the straight and I didn’t want to panic,” Shinn said.
“I think he is a Derby prospect this winter.”
Lees’s Queensland manager Mel Eggleston admitted he had a few anxious moments at the top of the straight.
“But Blake told us before the race he would ride Gem Song like the best horse. That is the way it turned out,” Eggleston said.
“I think Kris wants to try him as a stayer and there is always a chance to freshen him up for shorter races if that falls through.”
Jockey Sean Cormack said Starkers did well after being attacked in the lead.
Trainer Brian Smith believes he has a genuine Queensland Oaks filly in Belle Roc.
“She will run in The Roses in three weeks and then on to the Oaks,” he said.
