Astute Caulfield trainer Mick Price can start making bigger plans for his promising galloper Tavidance after his easy win in the David Bourke Memorial Handicap at Pakenham.
Jockey Damien Oliver took bad luck out of the equation as he steered the $2.10 favourite to the front with 300 metres to go and the horse cruised home to win by 3-1/4 lengths over Night’s Watch ($16) with Safin ($41) another three-quarters of a length away third.
Price said he would give Tavidance one more start over summer in an open handicap to take advantage of his lower rating and hopefully improve his benchmark so he could get into better races in the autumn.
Tavidance has won five of his 11 starts but had been luckless in his two runs leading into Saturday’s 1600m race.
Tavidance is raced by Price with with his partner Shona Dreschler and his daughters Stephanie and Kelly, along with his training partner Michael Kent Junior and longtime stable foreman Mick Nolan.
Price said it was pleasing to see Tavidance clear out and win in the manner he did.
Trainer Saab Hasan has been happy to defer to Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock’s manager Darren Dance’s opinion on their galloper Sirius Suspect and is reaping the rewards this campaign.
After Sirius Suspect won Saturday’s Hanson Handicap over 1200 metres, Hasan revealed they had argued over whether he was a 1400 metre horse.
Sirius Suspect flopped in two runs over that distance at Flemington during the winter as Hasan said he went too hard in the lead each time.
Hasan had to concede to Dance that he was wrong and they began to train him as a sprinter.
“We decided to just train him as a sprinter and Darren was right, Saab was wrong,” Hasan said.
“You have to agree to disagree sometimes and as long as the horses are winning, I don’t care.”
Sirius Suspect ($5) defeated Tavisan ($14) by 1-1/2 lengths with Hi Stranger ($3.40 fav) a long neck away third.
