After upstaging superstar Wow She’s Fast – on the clock, at least – on Maturity Classic night, exciting prospect El Dorado will be striving to continue his ‘golden’ run in Premier Racing at The Meadows on Saturday night.
Trained by his astute co-breeder, Daryl Holmes, El Dorado claimed Best Of Night honours at the Maturity meeting, stopping the clock at 29.78sec in a stunning 14.5L romp, eclipsing Wow She’s Fast’s 29.84sec performance in the Group 1 feature.
It was El Dorado’s 12th win from 20 career starts and fifth from his past six.
The well-related son of Mepunga Blazer and Gold Vein hasn’t missed a place in 11 starts since returning from a two-month break in May.
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“He’s had a couple of injury problems,” Holmes explained.
“He’s torn two triangle muscles and also had a bit of trouble with a hock.
“He missed the Classics. He was a month and a half too old for the Maturity and I didn’t have him right for the Silver Chief.
“When he came back this time, I gave him half a dozen runs at Traralgon and Warragul to harden him up before I put him back around two bends and it’s worked out pretty well.
“He’s run 29.32sec at Sandown and when I was asked what he could run last week, I said he’s a 29.80sec dog at The Meadows and that’s what he ran.
WATCH: In the words of iconic race caller Ron Hawkswell, EL DORADO (B8) “donkey-licked” his rivals with a runaway Best Of Night 29.78sec performance at last Saturday’s Maturity Classic meeting.
“Having ‘the pink’ was the risk last week, but while the dog is a mad railer, he’s had five starts from Box 8 for four wins and a second!
“His first section (5.10sec) surprised me because he ran 5.20sec when I trialled him and also when he won there at the Wednesday meeting.”
El Dorado will be looking to improve his perfect record at The Meadows to three from three in Race 2 at 6.58pm on Saturday, a $12,000 to-the-winner Grade 5 final of enormous depth.
Drawn in Box 4, El Dorado is TAB’s $2.40 favourite, with his opposition including Group 1 finalists Flight Risk (2), Let’s Win Coin (3) and Orlando (Box 5).
“It’s a hard race and he’ll need to reproduce that 5.10sec to win,” Holmes offered.
“‘The pink’ (Belle Violin) is the best drawn dog in the race.”
Owner/trainer Daryl Holmes and Clive McLennan pictured with in-form sprinter El Dorado.
Like every other dog in Holmes’ Blind Bight kennel, El Dorado is a son of outstanding matron Gold Vein, a G1 Sale Cup finalist in 2017, notably including classy female Sweet Petit, whose 13 wins are highlighted by the inaugural Pink Diamond Princess title.
“Robert Le Sueur and I go halves in each litter but there was seven in the Mepunga Blazer litter and El Dorado was the last one left because he hurt his knee as a pup,” Holmes explained.
“So, we went halves in him.
“Gold Vein has been unbelievable. She’s by an American dog, Djays Octane, and her mother (Pah Leeze) was a sister to Nolen. Nolen was a very, very quick dog. I saw him trial at Warragul one night and thought they’d clocked the lure!
“We have another litter by Bernardo that’s 16 months old and a four-week old litter by Tommy Shelby.
“El Dorado and Sweet Petit are the best two I have, but he’s a quicker dog.
“He’ll need to keep running the 5.10sec early against top grade sprinters, but failing that, you’d think he’ll run 600m on his ear.”
