Tom Sherry and Brad Widdup have combined with a winner to end the day at Randwick on Saturday, with Phearson ($12.00) proving far too strong in the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) .
The improving son of Exosphere put the writing on the wall at the end of his last campaign, securing victory in the Group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill before being sent to the paddock after a lacklustre performance in the Group 2 Ingham (1600m).
Some punters may have thought a race like that would be a bridge too far for the six-year-old gelding, but his win on Saturday is proof there may be more wins in store for the Brad Widdup-trained galloper.
The pace was on early as Phearson pinged the lids under Tom Sherry, however, he didn’t get it his own way on speed, with Coal Crusher ($3.60) and Whinchat ($4.00) both looking to cross from the wider draws.
They couldn’t respond the way Phearson did when the whips were cracking, leaving a few eye-catching performances in behind left to play for the minor money.
The Ciaron Maher-trained European import New Energy ($9.00) cruised through the wire from the back-half of the field to suggest he’s worth following in the future, while the Chris Waller-trained Kovalica ($9.50) will only improve as he gets deeper into the campaign.
It was all about Phearson in the end, however, as the six-year-old continued his winning ways on Soft tracks posing a formidable record of eight starts for four wins and four more minor placings to his name.
2024 Group 3 Liverpool City Cup Replay – Phearson
Brad Widdup was on course to discuss the win of his gelding and credited the team for his improvement to kick-off the preparation.
“Very tough,” said Widdup.
“I thought they were going to be too quick but he likes to roll – probably not that quick – but full credit to the staff at home. He’s not an easy horse but to get the win they’ve done a great job.
“He’ll improve, loves racing.”
Tom Sherry suggested that Saturday may have been the best Phearson has ever left the barriers, contributing to a gallant performance up on speed.
“He’s not the easiest horse but he had a good today and that is probably the best he’s left the barrier,” said Sherry.
“He’s sort of the more you leave him alone and leave him to his own devices the more he responds.
“He gave a good kick up the straight and I was hoping he’d have got third but he was tough and too strong.
“I thought Coal Crusher would have led but the way he jumped he was right there on the bridle and I didn’t want to disappoint him. He did everything right, was well behaved and hopefully he’s in for a good prep.”
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