Captain Ravishing can leap to fame with Derby win

It was only a couple of years ago that Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin captivated the harness racing world with a pacing machine named Ride High.

The son of Art Major won 16 of 18 career starts, breaking records and rivals’ hearts while setting tongues wagging around the globe.

While injury got the better of Ride High and a career at stud now his go, the training duo haven’t had to wait long for another freakishly gifted colt to pace through their stable doors.

His name is Captain Ravishing and he couldn’t have been more impressive in his three starts since arriving at the Stewart-Tonkin barn.

The son of Captaintreacherous reeled off one of the fastest final quarter sprints seen when he dashed home in a sizzling 25.1 seconds to win at Ballarat on September 9, then two weeks later smashed the 2180m track record at Kilmore.

And in last weekend’s Downbytheseaside Victoria Derby heat, the star three-year-old sat parked to Queensland gun Leap To Fame and, despite showing numerous signs of immaturity, still beat him in one of the slickest closing halves clocked at Victoria’s harness racing headquarters.

Now comes Captain Ravishing’s date with destiny – and a second showdown with Leap To Fame – in tonight’s Group 1 Downbytheseaside Victoria Derby Final at Tabcorp Park Melton.

Punters have billed it as a race in two, with Captain Ravishing a $1.85 favourite from the back row in barrier 10 while Grant Dixon’s charge is rated a $3 chance from gate five.

“Leap To Fame has won two Derbys and he’s raced against the best his whole career,” Stewart said.

“I’m tipping Grant will probably want to run it a little bit more genuine (than the heat) to try to take the speed out of our horse, but I think ours can maintain speed for a long time. And he might cop a bit of pressure before we get there, too. It will be interesting.”

Captain Ravishing appeared a star right from the beginning, with the eye-catching bay colt breaking a Melton three-year-old track record at his second race in January.

He was trained by Ahmed Taiba through his first five starts before the offer came for the state’s leading conditioners to take him to the next level.

Stewart said it was an offer too good to refuse.

“Freddy Taiba (owner Hass’ brother) actually rang us up. We were up in Queensland with Ladies In Red. We’ve always got along really good with the Taibas and had horses for them before,” Stewart said.

“They really liked this fella and just thought he’d do better working with better horses, so they offered him to us.

“You don’t knock back horses like him because he was a beautiful horse from the get-go – as a two-year-old – and we loved him. When he arrived, he was a super type and is everything you want in a horse.”