The Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained Grand Impact has taken out the Blue Sapphire Stakes over 1200m at Caulfield.
There was drama aplenty in the barriers before they jumped with the race favourite – Economics – flipping in the barriers and ultimately being scratched.
Grand Impact ended up jumping as the $3.10 favourite with online bookmakers and he saluted in fine fashion for those that took on the one-time favourite before he was scratched.
Grand Impact crossed from barrier eight to sit outside Daumier who lead the nine horse field up to the turn, but when Daumier started to give ground as they rounded the turn it left Grand Impact in front a long way from home.
However, it didn’t matter as this son of Saltono Aladdin took off and kicked a couple of lengths clear, and from then on Ben Melham rode him like he had won the race 100m from home and coasted to the line.
2022 Blue Sapphire Stakes Replay
After winning the Blue Sapphire Stakes for the second consecutive year in a row, Mick Price was very happy with his horse’s performance on the testing track.
“Look the blueprint with all of these colts are, you know, if you’re gonna win a nice race with them it’s no use just keep going and going and going with them from their first start. You gotta time your run.
“I brought these two colts our here last Saturday and he (Bews) worked better than Grand Impact and with no blinkers on Grand Impact, means no effort. So he’s a funny colt.” Mick Price said that the winner is a funny colt who didn’t work as well as the stablemate last Saturday, but he still got the job done today.
Ben Melham has now won two of the last three Blue Sapphire Stakes, with Ranting in 2020 and Grand Impact in 2022.
“He’s a nice horse with an astute stable. He had a couple of nice runs early in the Spring and they didn’t hesitate to stop with him.” Ben Melham echoed similar thoughts about timing the run of colts during the Spring to win nice races.
“He’s more of a raceday horse, he really switches on raceday. The thing I like about him is he’s winning and he’s still a fair off the finished product.” Ben Melham will hope to stick with this smart colt wherever he goes next.
Grand Impact is now a $7 chance with bookies in the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington on October 29.
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