New Zealand-bred gelding Evaporate kept his unbeaten three-year-old record intact in style in Saturday’s A$150,000 Airitalia Handicap (1523m) at Moonee Valley.
The son of Per Incanto has always been held in high regard by trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes, who threw him in at the deep end for his raceday debut in the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield in February.
He finished fourth in that event, followed by a second at Ballarat, an eighth in the Group 2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and another second placing in his final two-year-old start.
Evaporate began his three-year-old season on a perfect note with a convincing front-running maiden win on August 1, and he went back-to-back on Saturday with an even more impressive performance.
Rider Michael Dee settled off the pace this time before striding forward to throw down a challenge to the front-running Trunk just before the home turn.
Evaporate was clearly travelling the better of the two at the top of the straight, and he drew clear through the final 150m to win by three lengths.
“We wanted to try to ride him with a bit of cover today, and Michael did a great job,” Ben Hayes said.
“He was a bit keen in behind them and wanted to get rolling. Michael whipped around them at the right time, put the pressure on early and has run fantastic.
“We think he’ll be even better over further than this, so it’s very exciting for the ownership group. He was gelded at the start of this preparation and has come back well.
“As a physical, he was one of our favourite purchases at the Magic Millions sale and we paid good money for him. He’s just so big and has taken a bit of time. We thought gelding him would help make him a racehorse.
“It was very pleasing to see him make such a long, sustained run today and win so easily. A mile and beyond will hopefully suit him better, so you never know where we might end up.”
Dee was equally impressed with his mount’s performance.
“I had a talk with Ben and Grace (Ramage) before the race, and we weren’t too sure what to do,” he said.
“We were drawn wide, and there looked to be genuine speed in the race on paper.
“We came up with a plan to try to slot in just behind the speed, and if that didn’t eventuate, it was up to me. We ended up further back than we thought, but that was probably good for the horse going forward. He’s quite a keen-going horse, so for him to somewhat relax was good.
“He grabbed the bridle on his own accord and really wanted to be a part of it. It was a big improvement from his last win. He still does quite a lot wrong, but we’re getting there with him.
“As long as he keeps learning and putting it all together, I’m sure you’ll find him in stakes races later on.”
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