First love: Brenton Avdulla salutes the crowd yesterday. Photo: Pat Scala Photo: Mal Fairclough
SYDNEY sprinter Howmuchdoyouloveme will pursue more lofty assignments this spring after his effortless win in the group 2 Caulfield Sprint at Caulfield yesterday.
Trainer Con Karakatsanis said races such as the Salinger Stakes and the group 1 Patinack Farm Classic would be targets for his lightly raced sprinter.
''He was first-up for 10 weeks so he is going to have a lot of improvement under his belt,'' Karakatsanis said. ''He just puts himself in the race and he is absolutely bomb-proof. He's got a great future.''
The four-year-old jumped out and went straight to the lead and was never going to be beaten, adding to his imposing record of five wins from just six starts.
The gelding's only blemish was a second placing at Rosehill this time last year.
''I will just see how he pulls up but at this stage he'll go to the Salinger, and if he runs well there we'll back him up in the Patinack,'' he said.
Comparisons with former champion sprinter Takeover Target came soon after the victory, but his trainer said: ''If he is only half as good as Takeover Target was I'll be rapt.''
And it was a special day for former Melbourne rider Brenton Avdulla, who did his early apprenticeship in Victoria. The youngster was cool under pressure on board the red-hot favourite.
''Everything started here when I was 15 and I'd never put a head collar on a horse, but I left school and John and Gerard Moloney have supported me right through,'' Avdulla said.
''It's a big thrill to ride him and I've been with him every step of the way. From day one when we trialled him I knew he was pretty special and they were thinking of selling him but I'm glad they kept him.
''I was a little bit worried because he is only 80-85 per cent fit but Con has got him as well as he could to get him here today but I was just a little bit suspect if he'd be on tired legs for the last 100 metres, which he was.''
Howmuchdoyouloveme was heavily backed from $4.40 into $3.50 favourite and scored by two lengths from Canali ($10) with Latin News ($26) a long neck away third.
No comments:
Post a Comment