An outstanding few weeks for Waikato Stud’s freshman sire Super Seth continued at Caulfield on Saturday with the unbeaten Feroce (NZ) winning the A$150,000 Vale John Russell (1200m).
Feroce now boasts a two-from-two record and is one of two first-crop winners in Australia so far this season for Super Seth. His other Australian winner is the exciting Linebacker (NZ), who has also been successful in both of his starts including last Saturday’s Gr.3 Baillieu Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill. Linebacker is being pointed towards the Gr.1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick later this month.
All eyes on Saturday were on Feroce, who delivered a first metropolitan winner for his trainer Dominic Sutton. Stepping up in class after winning on debut at Pakenham on March 21, Feroce settled on the outside of the front-running Invincible Beau (Brazen Beau) until the home turn.
Jockey Billy Egan pushed the button in the straight and Feroce dashed past Invincible Beau and opened up a clear lead. Perspiration (Too Darn Hot) produced a strong late finish to reduce the margin to half a length, but Feroce was never in any danger of defeat.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said Sutton, who is in the early stages of his training career after a long tenure as foreman for Leon and Troy Corstens. “It’s pretty surreal and even more special that I have my father (Nick) over here from the UK.
“It was an impressive win. It took him a little longer to get across than I expected – Invincible Beau kicked up on the inside there and just made us take our time to come across. But I loved the way that he dropped his head and settled once Billy asked him to come back.
“He is still quite a raw horse and has a tendency to switch off in his gallops, so I think there is a lot of improvement still to come once he really learns to hit the line strong.”
Bred by Pencarrow Stud, Feroce was purchased out of Kilgravin Lodge’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale draft for $160,000 by Sutton in partnership with McKeever Bloodstock.
Feroce is a son of the unraced O’Reilly mare Corinthia (NZ) and is a half-brother to the Listed Karaka Classic winner Siracusa (NZ) (Sebring) and a member of the famed Eight Carat (Pieces of Eight) family.
“He’s obviously a big strapping horse by a sire on the rise,” Sutton said. “You’ve got to take the gamble when you like a nice horse. We wanted to get some quality into the stable straight away and he’s that type of horse.”
