Well-performed gelding St Lawrence roared back into winning form with a barnstorming finish in Saturday’s A$160,000 Alinta Energy Handicap (1600m) at Randwick.
The New Zealand-bred son of Redwood made a big impression in the early stages of his career, winning on debut at Hastings before crossing the Tasman and adding another five victories from his first six Australian starts.
The most recent of those wins was in July of last year, and St Lawrence then went winless through 11 starts and almost 15 months since then. He was continuing to perform with credit during that period, recording two seconds, three thirds, two fourths and a fifth. He was runner-up in the Goulburn Cup (1400m) on August 25.
St Lawrence was right back at his best on Saturday, coming from second-last at the home turn and producing a withering finish down the straight. He swept past fellow New Zealand-bred runner Chica Mojito and scored by half a length.
“That was a nice win,” jockey Tommy Berry said. “It wasn’t really the plan, but plans don’t always work out. We were going to be a bit more positive on him today, but a few others had the same idea. We ended up going back instead. He got a lovely drag into the race.
“These older horses, sometimes all they need is a bit of confidence. Hopefully he’ll get that from this win.
“I didn’t really expect his acceleration. He got to the front a bit soon and had a bit of a look around. But I was able to persuade him to hold on for a bit longer.”
The six-year-old St Lawerence has now had 19 starts for seven wins, six placings and A$504,372 in stakes.
“He hasn’t been racing badly at all, it was a good run in the Goulburn Cup the other day,” trainer Ciaron Maher said. “We were planning on rolling forward here today from an awkward draw, but he didn’t step that well. Tommy rode him quietly instead and he finished it off really well.
“He’s thriving in what he’s doing. You’ve just got to keep these older geldings happy and healthy, and you keep them moving around. He’s been in work quite a while, but a change is as good as a holiday sometimes.”
Bred by Westbury Stud owner Gerry Harvey, St Lawrence is one of five winners from seven foals to race out of the unraced Encosta De Lago mare Bacio Del Vinto, who is also the dam of Group Three winner Marroni.
St Lawrence began his career in New Zealand, where he was trained by Andrew Forsman. He won two trials on the Cambridge synthetic track, then overcame a wide run to score an impressive debut win at Hasting. He was later bought privately in a deal brokered by Maher’s bloodstock manager Will Bourne.
