Queensland raider Shogun Sun has upstaged a field of promising three-year-old sprinters at Randwick to put his name forward as a Golden Rose contender.
Trainer Kelly Schweida had expressed doubts the 1200m trip would be too short for the $20 outsider in the walking2help.com.au Sprint.
But soft ground and an unimpeded run in the straight helped Shogun Sun ease past front-running favourite Addictive Nature ($2.45) in the final 200m to win by 1-1/4 lengths.
Solar Patch ($9) finished a short neck away third.
“It gives us some hope going forward,” part-owner Mark Gray-Spencer said.
Jockey Christian Reith said the gelding was still inexperienced but showed speed once he found galloping room near the turn.
“We didn’t go overly quick and he just needed a split, and he took a bit to get through to build his confidence but once he got through, he really impressed me,” Reith said.
The $54,000 for winning more than doubles Shogun Sun’s prize money and improves his order-of-entry ranking for the Group One Golden Rose over 1400m on September 23.
