Tony McEvoy concedes he didn't really want to send Sanctimonious to Sydney for the $250,000 Inglis Classic at Warwick Farm on Saturday but says his hand was forced by a change in Melbourne race scheduling.
McEvoy has a high opinion of the monster two-year-old colt that won atMoonee Valley last Friday night when he landed a big betting plunge despite not being comfortable around the tight circuit.
Punters were rubbing their hands with glee after Sanctimonious firmed from $1.85 to $1.50, afteras much as $2.30 was available earlier on raceday, and won as he liked despite Craig Williams having to take off early and sit three-wide because of a slow pace.
McEvoy has set the son of Foxwedge on a path towards the $200,000 Group II VRC Sires Produce (1400m) atFlemingtonon March 10 and had initially planned a 1300m midweek race atSandown as an ideal stepping stone.
But with the Sandown meeting on February 21 transferredtoCaulfield, McEvoy has changed his blueprint and elected to send Sanctimonious to Sydney.
Sanctimonious is the $3.20 favourite for theInglis Classic (1200m) withTim Clarkto ride.
McEvoy says Sydney racegoers will see a vastly improved juvenile to when he ran an eye-catching fifth in the Inglis Nursery (1000m) atRandwickin December.
"I must admit I didn't really want to go back to Sydney with him, I thought a 1300m race at Sandown would be perfect for him," McEvoy said.
"But that race meeting has been transferred to Caulfield, and a few days before the Blue Diamond the rail that day will be out in no-man's land.
"So I ran the figures in the Inglis race in Sydney and I thought he would get into it really well.
"He is a very nice horse and he has come though his Moonee Valley run in fantastic order.
"Things went a bit wrong in Sydney for him last time he was there but I have done more work on his Sydney leg and I think racegoers in Sydney will see a vastly different horse this time."
Sanctimonious was a $90,000 Inglis Classic purchase last year from the Glastonbury Farms draft and his sire Foxwedge has 13 entries for the 2018 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale which starts on Saturday night.
