Lindsay Park’s wise investment in former New Zealand galloper Touchdown is consistently paying dividends, with the progressive five-year-old gelding delivering another outstanding performance at Flemington.
The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained gelding has now notched up five wins and three placings from only nine career starts, achieving a commanding victory in the Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale (1620m).
Having resumed with an eye-catching second over 1400 metres at Sandown, Touchdown elevated his game further in his second-up outing.
Co-trainer Ben Hayes shared his assessment: “Although he didn’t win at Sandown, it was still a great run. We had to go back from the draw on a heavy track first-up and he was super through the line. He really came through it well. This time he had to do a bit more work than we thought but it was an easy watch in the end and he was strong through the line and there were nice spacings back to second and third.”
Starting as the $1.95 favourite, Touchdown defeated Danny O’Brien’s Fahrr Flung ($12) by a margin of two lengths, with Kaleo ($5.50) a further 2¼ lengths behind in third.
Hayes is of the view that the lightly raced import still holds significant potential for improvement as the stable gradually steps up his campaign.
“I think there is a lot more to come and he is an exciting horse going forward,” Hayes commented. “It is always good when they run well at this place and there are a lot of nice races to win. We’re not going to get too carried away with him yet and we’ll go through the grades with him but he may end up in a nice race in the spring.”
The triumph also marked jockey Blake Shinn’s second winner of the day during his comeback meeting, following an extended period out due to injury.
Shinn believes Touchdown possesses the inherent qualities to develop into an even more formidable competitor as he races over increased distances.
“He’s a raw talent, I feel and he’s not the furnished product,” Shinn stated. “I love that he’s got a great length of stride and I think he’ll get better as he gets further.”
Betting markets for the Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale are now open at Australian betting sites.