Having not raced since fourth in the Listed BRC Spear Chief Handicap (1500m) during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, the Mark Currie trained Tavs (Dundeel) resumed from a spell to record his first black type victory, winning the Listed Weetwood (1200m) at Toowoomba on Saturday in track record time.
With both Transatlantic and Desert Lightning, who finished ahead of him in the Listed Spear Chief Handicap both having performed extremely well in early spring stakes races in Melbourne, the 5yo gelding was justifiably sent out the race favourite.
Racing under lights, it was a mad dash from the barriers with those in the outside barriers charging across the field to settle handy with Desleigh Forster He’s Heaven (Zoustar) and Tony Gollan’s All That Pizzazz (Spirit Of Boom) coming across from barriers 13 and 14 respectively to sit first and second in the run.
Settling in a mid-field position, bidding her time while those up the front went like scalded cats, Angela Jones started to come along the inside aboard Tavs to put him into a challenging position, but the gelding still had plenty of ground to make up.
He’s Heaven was still in front as the field turned for home with Tony Gollan’s Nettuno (I Am Invincible) coming down the outside as a threat, but in a matter of strides Tavs accelerated past them at a significant rate of knots.
Pulling away with ease, Tavs recorded his first black type victory by four a three-quarter lengths from Nettuno, with the Jeff Dunn trained Sha Of Gomer (Shalaa) working home for third, just under six lengths from the winner.
“He’s not too bad a horse, this little fella,” Currie said.
“There’s been a few track records here today but to still break the track record makes the win ever better.
“He raced really well all last preparation and after he ran fourth in that listed race at Eagle Farm (in June) he looked a little tired so we put him away with the Weetwood in mind and it has all paid off.
“He’d been trialling really well and we came here pretty confident and it all came together perfectly.
“Couldn’t be happier. There’s a bit still ahead for this horse.
“We will need to look where we go next now.”
Having now ridden back-to-back winners of the Weetwood, Jones was super impressed with the performance of Tavs.
“His turn of foot was just amazing,” Jones said.
“Having that underneath you was almost like a race car, I was trying to find the brakes at one stage he was going that well.
“That was probably the 'funnest' race I’ve ridden in.
“I could tell he was going better than the field so I took him back and gambled on the worst part of the track on the inside but he was just electric.
“He really is a horse going places. He felt amazing.”
Originally trained by Richard Litt at Warwick Farm before heding to Currie, Tavs took his record to seven wins and four place efforts from 27 starts with earnings of $375,950.
Bred by Ottavio and Wendy Galletta, Tavs is the first stakes winner, and one of three winners out of the dual winning Beneteau mare Quattro Foglie.
The mare has an unnamed 2yo colt by Castelvecchio and then she was sent to New Zealand where she foaled a filly by Castelvecchio, before being covered by Deep Impact’s Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes winner Profondo (who was raced by the Galletta's) with the mare then sent back to Australia where she is due this season.
Tavs became the 38th stakes winner for Dundeel (NZ), with the Group 1-winning and Group 1-producing son of High Chaparral (IRE) standing at a fee of $88,000 (inc. GST) this season.
