Matthew Ellerton & Damien Lane have combined with Band Of Brothers ($5.50) to claim the Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday afternoon.
The son of Omaha Beach proved far too classy in the three-year-old feature, courtesy of a perfectly timed steer by Lane, landing into the one-one throughout the journey to gain the ideal stalking position.
He was able to gain the back of Winchester ($15.00) in the middle stages, who was happy to sit outside the leader, as Interest Point ($4.20) cruised along at a genuine tempo under Michael Dee.
The race set up nicely for the back markers to come into play, as the eventual winner came with his run, as did Let’sfacethemusic ($4.40), powering down the centre of the course but unable to reel in the unassailable lead of Band Of Brothers.
Meanwhile, the well-supported favourite, Wonder Boy ($3.20), was doing his best work late, charging into third, with the Jerome Hunter-trained gelding already looking for a step up in trip.
It was all about the winner in the end though, as Band Of Brotherw never looked in doubt in claiming the Group 3 feature.
2024 Group 3 Vain Stakes Replay – Band Of Brothers
Matthew Ellerton was at home celebrating the victory while recovering from a stroke suffered in Bali back in early July, but his calls were heard to apply the blinkers as Lane spoke post-race.
“It just switched him on a little bit (the application of blinkers),” said Lane.
“He was very hesitant to lead last start and I just felt like he was going to pull up to a trot, he had his ears pricked and he was stopping and starting.
“We always liked him but probably to see him winning a Group race was probably a stretch.
“Credit to the team identifying this race, we elected to come here rather than the benchmark 64 on Wednesday.”
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