The lure of a $250,000 sales-restricted race has made the Inglis Premier at Caulfield an attractive option for Newcastle trainer Paul Perry with debut winner Perast.
Perast won his first start at Scone in the NSW Hunter Valley last month to confirm plans for Saturday’s lucrative race for juveniles at Caulfield.
By Snitzel out of Zabeel mare Thousand Veils is the only interstate runner in Saturday’s 10-horse field for two-year-olds sold at at last year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne.
Perast, a $100,000 yearling, won as Perry expected on debut, taking up the lead in the 1100m-race against his own age before clearing out over the final 200m to win by 3-1/2 lengths as an odds-on favourite.
“I thought he would win and he won well,” Perry said.
“He did everything asked of him and he was always going to go there with this race in mind.”
Perast is on the second line of betting at $3.50 behind the Ciaron Maher-trained colt Jukebox who won on debut at Geelong and is at $2.35.
Jukebox will be out to press his Blue Diamond claims, while Perast is not nominated for the Blue Diamond.
Perry admits it is hard to gauge Perast’s opposition and he expects to know more about future plans for the colt after Saturday’s race.
“It’s a look and see,” he said.
“I don’t know many of the opposition. There’s so many having their first run in the race, so it’s hard to know.
“I’m happy with him and you can only be happy with your own horse. He’s done everything right so far.”
