The familiar colours of Lindsay Park and Punt Road Syndications were seen in the winner’s circle again on Wednesday at Caulfield, as Soldi triumphed in Victoria’s second juvenile race of the season.
Soldi proved a tenacious winner of the $175,000 Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m), securing back-to-back victories for the Punt Rd ownership group in this event, with a filly trained by Ben, Will & Jd Hayes again claiming the prize.
This repeat success mirrored the win achieved 12 months prior by the Sword Of State filly Torture. JD Hayes conveyed his enthusiasm for achieving another victory for the syndicate, which was established through a shared passion for racing and the Richmond Football Club.
“Back-to-back for Punt Road Syndicates – Johnny O’Neill, Jay Steet and the crew – and we’ve formed a bit of relationship and getting some nice results, especially with the two-year-olds,” Hayes remarked. “It was great for her to do that. We thought she’d taken nice improvement out of her trial here at Caulfield Heath the other day and she only got there by the barest of margins, but we’ll take it.”
The daughter of Tassort made a stellar debut, winning by a short-head over the $3 favourite, Royal Press. Soldi, the $3.80 second choice, displayed impressive early speed but was positioned one off the fence after Jye Mcneil took the inside run on Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s Alabama Express colt Royal Press. Soldi responded valiantly, holding off the colt by a similar margin in the final 150 metres.
Winning jockey Blake Shinn commented that Soldi seemed to relish the close competition from the runner-up.
“That is her best asset, her professionalism, and just natural ability,” Shinn said. “She’s got a lot of natural talent and it was nice to see, when she got into that bit of a fight there late, she really was determined to win.”
While Torture, a New Zealand-bred, subsequently competed in the Karaka Million following her Debutant Stakes victory, this option is not available for Soldi, who was purchased for $310,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. Hayes is now keen to plot her future racing path.
“Whether she’s had enough before Christmas or whether we go again is a decision that we’ll have to make, because she does look like a real professional and has seriously got some speed there,” Hayes concluded. Bet on the next race with the leading betting sites.
