Caulfield trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr can start making bigger plans for their promising galloper Tavidance (NZ) (Tavistock) after his easy win in the David Bourke Memorial Handicap (1600m) at Pakenham.
Jockey Damien Oliver took bad luck out of the equation as he steered the $2.10 favourite to the front with 300 metres to go and the horse cruised home to win by 3-1/4 lengths over Night’s Watch (NZ) (Redwood) with Safin (Snitzel) another three-quarters of a length away third.
Price said the five-year-old gelding would have one more start over summer in an open handicap to take advantage of his lower rating and hopefully improve his benchmark so he could get into better races in the autumn.
“It was good to see him clear out and distinguish himself like that,” he said.
“I’m not sure how far we go in the summer but you’d like to take advantage of his benchmark rating at the moment, make an open handicapper and win these races without getting carried away.
“That is what I would like to do this prep and then miss the firmer tracks of summer and then have a well-qualified horse in the autumn.”
Tavidance has won five of his 11 starts but had been luckless in his two runs leading into Saturday’s 1600m race.
The gelding is owned by Price with his partner Shona Dreschler and his daughters Stephanie and Kelly, along with his training partner Kent Jnr and long-time stable foreman Mick Nolan and is already proving a nice money spinner for connections.
“I’ll take a punt on the track being OK at his next start somewhere. I’ve got plenty of horse there,” Price said.
“He’s thriving in himself, so it depends on what’s in the calendar but I think there’ll be a plan without wanting to go too much into summer.”
Out of the Zabeel mare Zadancer, Tavidance was bred by Dr Gene Tsoi and is yet another successful example of the Tavistock-Zabeel cross, which includes Tarzino (NZ), who was trained by Price to win both the Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m) and Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m).
Fellow Group One winners Werther (NZ), Toffee Tongue (NZ) and Johnny Get Angry (NZ) are also bred on the same cross. – NZ Racing Desk
