It is safe to say that Ciaron Maher knows a stayer with potential when he sees one and St Lawrence has shown him enough to describe the horse as a ‘stayer of the future’.
St Lawrence took his record to four wins in as many starts with victory in the BM70 Joe Brown Handicap over 1800 metres, two of which have been at this course.
“He looked to be dominant last start but it was a bit workman-like today,” Maher said.
“He doesn’t carry a lot of condition so we’ll just keep an eye on him but he is ticking up through the grades but this was pretty soft in the end.
With runs well-spaced, Maher said that finding this right race was key to ticking another box in the four-year-old by Redwood’s progression.
St Lawrence won on debut at Hastings in New Zealand over 1400 metres in April, then won on a heavy track at Geelong on September 15.
Conquering at Sandown on December 7 on a firmer surface over 1500 metres, the gelding stepped up to this longer distance with few issues.
“There’s plenty there to work with,” jockey John Allen said.
“The last run he was able to take a sit and he probably looked more explosive but today they didn’t do that quick so it turned out to be a sprint up the straight.
“He was always doing enough to hold them even though it wasn’t looking as impressive as the last run.”
St Lawrence started the $1.55 favourite and won by a half-length over the Matt Cumani-trained Wetakemanhattan ($41) and Barretta ($10) for Ben and JD Hayes.
