Tony Pike excited by Merlini’s future
The son of I Am Invincible has all the makings of a black type performer when his racing manners match his raw talent.
“He’s one of the fastest and most talented gallopers I’ve had for a while,” trainer Tony Pike said.
“He’s a very progressive horse, but he’s still doing a lot of things wrong. He’s a work in progress.”
That has been evident in both of Merlini’s wins, the latest of them in the Zephyr Consulting Premier (1000m) at Trentham on Saturday.
The gelding was wayward in the running, but still proved far too good for his rivals under stable apprentice Jordan Nason.
“There’s a couple of nice three-year-old sprint races coming up, but we’ll get him home and see how he is,” Pike said. “It’s really just a matter of getting more practice into him.”
Merlini was quickly into stride to make the running and despite a couple of brushes with the rail in the run home he still had a more than comfortable margin on Silver Cloud at the post.
“He was quick getting out of the gates today and he got a bit lost over the crossing, but once he got down to the rail it was plain sailing,” Nason said. “He’s got a really bright future.”