Tegan Keys admits she was “horrified” when she first laid eyes on The Inevitable, who is a $23 outsider across betting sites for the All Star Mile at The Valley on Saturday.
David Brunton, who is a former top Tasmanian conditioner and the father of her co-trainer and fiancé, Scott, purchased him for just $90,000 at a Magic Millions Adelaide sale.
Problem was, the now seven-year-old gelding seemed too small to be an elite-level racer.
“Scott’s dad was the one who picked him out, and when we turned up we were horrified to tell the truth,” Keys told HorseBetting.com.au.
“But he’s turned out to be fantastic. He’s been great for us.
“Scott actually hid him from the owners for quite some time because he didn’t know what to say to them.”
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The Inevitable – set to start from barrier three – has certainly not gone missing in his past six starts, winning all of them.
His popularity saw him finish sixth in All Star Mile voting, picking up 5897 of them, his winning streak including Tasmanian Stakes and Hellova St Stakes triumphs this year.
“He’s got quite a big fan base. Even people we don’t know who we run into, it comes up in conversation,” Keys said.
“There are a lot of people out there supporting him, which is good.”
Keys said The Inevitable’s fans would not be let down in the $5 million feature this weekend, with career highlights being CS Hayes Stakes and Silver Eagle victories in 2019.
“He’s drawn pretty good. He loves to be out and around them,” she said.
“And there’ll be a fair bit of pace on I’d imagine, so it should work out pretty good for him.
“He only ever does what he has to do. He can only beat what he’s up against, and that’s what he’s done.
“He’s up against some very good horses, but we wouldn’t swap him for anyone.”
Keys said The Inevitable – despite being small in stature – also has a big personality to match his big heart.
“He doesn’t know how small he is. He’s a bit of a handful, but he’s been great for us,” she said.
“Oh yes, he’s got plenty of quirks. He’s pretty full-on, but he’s good fun.
“He’s always up to something. He’s pretty much dropped everybody.”
The racing world was captivated by Rebel Racer’s stunning all-the-way victory in the Adelaide Cup this week.
Also a $26 outsider with online bookies, co-trainer Amy Yargi said after the race some hurdle work only improved his ability as a stayer.
Keys said similar cross-training work has done the trick with The Inevitable.
“He can do stuff that’s not normal the way he moves his body and the height he can get for a very small horse off no run-ups,” she said.
“He’s quite incredible. I’ve been jumping him. After Sydney (finishing 12th in the 2019 Golden Eagle) he was a bit down and out – he didn’t want to be a racehorse anymore.
“But I started jumping him and he’s actually a bloody good jumper.”
Aside from his unique character traits, Keys has enjoyed riding him in work.
“I was pregnant and then I came back riding after he’d had a start. He missed the kick and came third,” she said.
“And when I came back out to start riding, Scott asked me to ride him.
“I hadn’t heard many good stories about his behaviour. But I jumped on him and I realised very quickly he was good.
“He always had it. Yeah, he is (best horse we’ve trained).”
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