He may not be bred to stay, but Single Choice looks a genuine chance of giving trainer Matt Cumani his maiden Group One in the South Australian Derby.
A son of Anders, who was known for his blistering speed over sprint trips, Single Choice proved too strong winning the Listed Galilee Series Final (2400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
After opening clear favourite, Single Choice was a noted drifter in betting, jumping a $5 third-elect with Jamie Mott aboard, who settled him outside the lead.
With the tempo muddling, runs came early and Single Choice kicked clear to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Arabian Prince ($3.70) and $2.90 favourite Amazake who was shuffled back and held up badly rounding the turn.
Having given the Ballarat based trainer his first Group 2 Autumn Classic winner earlier in the campaign, Cumani said he’d seen enough to warrant a trip for the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) on May 2nd.
“I was very nervous about whether he’d get the trip, but he got a beautiful ride by Motty,” Cumani said.
“No speed early, but they went pretty solid from the 800 (metres) out, even earlier than that and he had to sustain a pretty hard run.
“But he’s got to be of that turn of foot and that’s really valuable for a horse that can get a bit of a trip.
“I think we’ve got to go to Adelaide off that. This race was a bit of a test to see if he might get a derby distance, and even though it might not have been a solid run 2400 throughout, I think it’s provided enough of a test to say that we can go there and give it a go.”
Jamie Mott was full of praise for how Single Choice won, given he’d come from back in the field to win the Autumn Classic two starts prior.
“It was bit of a new scenario for him, and he adapted well, and I think if he takes his form today to the Derby, they’ll know he’s there for sure,” Mott said.
