For a boutique stable, David Payne has an uncanny knack of finding Group 1 performers, and he is hoping two-year-old Persian Wonder can become his latest.
The youngster tackles Saturday’s Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick, bidding to break his maiden at the highest level after a series of encouraging performances, the most recent a solid second to Southend in the Baillieu (1400m) at Rosehill last month.
Originally from South Africa, Payne has trained more than 100 Group 1 winners across the world, putting the polish on a host of top gallopers locally including Criterion, Ace High and Montefilia.
And he continues to punch above his weight, despite a limited budget and numbers.
While the humble horseman sites luck as a major factor, there is no denying he has a keen eye for a yearling.
“I have been in the game a long time and I’ve been lucky with buying horses,” Payne said.
“But you’ve got to find the horse first. We buy maybe ten at the sales, other stables might buy 250. But we always find one, and we’ve got a couple there at the moment.”
Along with Wednesday’s impressive Warwick Farm winner Bangkok Hottie, who is being spelled in preparation for a shot at the Princess Series in the spring, Persian Wonder shapes as a stable flagbearer for the future.
While an outside draw has made his task at Randwick more difficult, the youngster has performed well when ridden off the speed and Payne says those tactics will be adopted at Randwick.
He did race handier last time out under James McDonald and while he didn’t get the win, Payne was happy with the education.
“It was a good run. I thought he might have been a bit too handy, but it’s good that James taught him to get out of the gates,” he said.
“It’s a tough race on Saturday so we’ll ride him quiet and see what happens.
“We have been aiming him at this for a while, so we’ll see if he’s good enough.”
With McDonald committed to Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Campione D’italia, Chad Schofield jumps back aboard Persian Wonder after partnering him to an eye-catching fourth in the Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) on March 14.
