Big future touted for Doomben winner Stanley
MICHAEL Costa is hopeful that his lightly raced gelding Stanley has a bright future as a stayer after scoring a convincing win over 2200m at Doomben on Saturday.
Ridden by Michael Cahill, Stanley settled in fourth position throughout the early stages before working his way into second on the outside of the leader Me
Swinging for home Cahill said go, with Stanley slipping into top gear and grinding out a tough finish to hold out Loving Home to score in 2:16.28.
The three-year-old has now won two in a row, having saluted at Grafton over 1700m on July 16 when scoring by just under three lengths on the line.
Costa, who part owns the son of Stratum and El Ashb, said he couldn’t be happier with Stanley following the run.
“It was a good ride. There were no instructions for [Michael Cahill] today we just said go out and let him get in his rhythm – that’s what he did at Grafton,” Costa said.
“He’s been a surprise packet this horse. We bought him for $6,500 at the Inglis Classic [Yearling Sales] and he has got a nice little record now – he has won four from eight.”
Hey @daveystan1 .. What a horse 'Stanley' must be to carry the burden of your name and still win at Doomben! ??
— Luke Marlow (@MarlowLuke) July 22, 2017
Costa said the well-bred youngster was always destined for more ground, having staying bloodlines, but concedes he has no immediate plans moving forward.
“He is related to Red Cadeaux and Big Orange so he is bred to get the trip but who knows where he goes next,” he said.
“He is still a three-year-old, almost about to turn four so he is going to get better with age. It was a tough little effort from him – it was a seven day backup into a six day backup so we’ll just see how he pulls up and go from there.”