With the first box ticked in his new campaign connections of Western Sonador now hope to navigate northern borders and lay their claim for a place in Queensland’s star-studded Blacks A Fake.

Stephen O’Donoghue and Rebecca Bartley’s gifted five-year-old returned for his first race since March and did it in cruise control to win the Simonds Home Bendigo Pace, including holding off a tenacious late challenge from in-form Torrid Saint.

It was just what Bartley had hoped of Western Sonador, who shook off his winter slumber with a 26.9-second final quarter that clinched the $20,000 win.

“He was really good tonight,” Bartley told Trots Vision. “I was a little bit worried in the stabling area, he was really quiet and a completely different horse to what I had in Sydney.

“This time in he’s just done everything so easy. He’s had a couple of trials, they were easy, he hasn’t been put under any pressure yet, so coming into the race I was just a little concerned that he might be a bit underdone.

“Once we got the front easy he relaxed and dropped the bit and was good.”

He was able to amble through in even time in the first two quarters and there was no rush to hasten the pace with little pressure on his outside as Shadow Sax was sadly pulled up from the breeze.

Only Torrid Saint, who was perched on Western Sonador’s back throughout, loomed as a threat and while he got within a neck the win always appeared in Bartley’s keeping.

“This was more or less just a good trial for him tonight,” she said. “The plans are to try and get to Queensland (for the Constellation Carnival), that’s a bit up in the air at the moment with the whole COVID situation.

“We learned a lot when he was in Sydney, he was just over the top and by the last race everyone knew who he was. He was carrying on.

“So this is just more a learned experience, to let him grow and mature and hopefully it does make him a better horse.”

There’s plenty of talent already impressing at Albion Park, including the likes of Expensive Ego and Copy That who were both impressive tonight, but Bartley can’t help but be excited by the prospect in her hands.

It’s prompted inevitable comparisons to the stable’s previous star, San Carlo. The pair share a granddam in Ailsa, with San Carlo being out of her second foal Bridge Player and Western Sonador out of her fourth foal Refresh Me. Both the broodmares were by Classic Garry.

“He’s very exciting,” Bartley said of Western Sonador. “Murray (San Carlo) was a once-in-a-lifetime horse and you didn’t think you would get another one. For this horse to come along it’s really special. We are very lucky to have two of them in a short time.”