The future of Victorian harness racing was on display after emerging juveniles Catch The Captain and Twigstar took out their respective divisions of the Sapling Stakes on Saturday night.
Sent out the $2.15 favourite, Catch The Captain had little trouble finding the lead and, despite being joined by Alloa around the home turn, the Andy Gath-trained colt comfortably held off his rivals in the home straight in a mile rate of 1:54.
Kate Gath conceded the well-bred relation to Catch A Wave and Yambukian was still a work in progress.
“I had to growl at him a little bit and he doesn’t know much about it yet, but he’s definitely got that high cruising speed and he felt terrific out of the gate,” Gath said.
Gath believes Catch The Captain, who will head for a spell, will make further improvement next season.
“When you look at the size of him and he’s not overly filled out, you would think,” she said.
The Scott Ewen-prepared Twigstar kept her unbeaten race record intact when she made it four wins from as many starts in the fillies’ division.
With Ewa Justice in the sulky, the $1.60 favourite was forced to work for the lead by her main danger Spooky Moth before peeling off a slick 26.1 last 400 metres to give nothing else a chance.
“She began really well, but so did the one inside her and we kept pressing and went very slow from there. She had it all in her hands, but she’s just push-button. When you ask her to go, she just explodes,” Justice said.
“She’s so professional and I think she will go a long way. I’m pretty certain of that,” she said.
Justice revealed how she has maintained the drive on Twigstar after her partner and stable driver James Herbertson was in the sulky for the filly’s debut win at Cranbourne.
“James was in South Australia for her next start and Scotty (Ewen) has a rule where you can’t sack a winning driver, so she keeps winning and I keep the drive,” she said.
Emerging four-year-old Fairplay made a seamless transition to open-class ranks when he led all the way in the Casey Classic.
The son of Rock N Roll Heaven threw a slick 54.9 last 800 metres at his rivals before holding an eight-metre margin over Jilliby Nitro on the line in a mile rate of 1:53.
Driver Mark Pitt said the winner handled his biggest test to date with aplomb.
“He’s in great form and taking that next step against some of these who have been in some very good races all their lives, but as we know, the barrier draw was a bit of an advantage,” Pitt said.
“He’s got to be right up there with some of the better ones I’ve driven. They always seem to come through their grades and they can hit a flat spot when they come to this level, but this guy seems to have taken it with ease,” he said.
The win launched a winning quartet for both Emma Stewart and Pitt, along with a treble for prominent owner Danny Zavitsanos, who also combined to score with Cardigan Dan, Dynamitedan and Brooklyn Dan.
PHOTOS: STU MCCORMICK
