Scallopini was made to work wide from his barrier, gave the rest of the Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap field 1.5kg and he still gave them a beating, bringing up his fourth win from four starts at the Flemington 1400m.
After jumping from barrier 14, Damian Lane pushed forward and was made to work three-wide for the first 200m of the race, before crossing and settling outside Savannah Cloud at the front of the field.
However, when the field rounded the home turn, Lane pushed the button and when he did the eight-year-old son of Snitzel exploded away to put up two lengths on Savannah Cloud who couldn’t go with him and with nothing making up considerable ground, Scallopini was home with 100m to go.
Scallopini was a short-priced favourite with online bookmakers, before drifting out to $6 as the second favourite behind Ayrton, who didn’t feature in the finish.
2023 Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap Replay – Scallopini
Steven O’Dea & Matthew Hoysted have continued their winning ways down in Victoria for the autumn, after they picked up the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate with Uncommon James, and Matthew Hoysted spoke post-race.
“I was a little bit worried when he didn’t get things on his own terms, but he’s just so tough,” Hoysted said.
“I knew when he gave that good kick that he would be able to sustain it to the line.
“He’s just an old marvel, he loves his time down here and I couldn’t be prouder of him.
“I’m a bit lost for words with him, he’s rising nine and he’s in career-best form and every time we raise the bar he just keeps meeting it.”
Hoysted finished his interview by saying that the Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane will be the next target, which should see Scallopini go out for a freshen before his winter campaign.
Damian Lane brought up a double on Super Saturday after winning on Veight earlier in the day and he spoke post-race after the win on Scallopini.
“He’s a beauty, they don’t come much better,” Lane said.
“Sometimes he can be a bit eager, and he can want to get on with things, but gee he is racing so well.
“I was confident that he could do a bit of work and still run really well.”
Scallopini is now a $13 chance in the Stradbroke Handicap futures market with online betting sites.
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