A collection of the state’s finest young talents were on display at Sandown Park on Thursday night, just weeks out from the $460,000 Launching Pad series.
Highly-promising sprinter Amlin Emperor got the night started with a strong all-the-way victory over Extreme Jewel and Mr. Holyfield.
He resumed from a three-month hiatus last week at Warragul and was a dominant eight length winner before mustering brilliantly to score his first metropolitan win last night.
Owner/trainer Gerrie Sneyders also hit a similar milestone with the victory.
“It’s my first city win as a trainer,” he said.
“I’ve owned a bred a few but as a trainer this is my first. My partner, Pearl (Terry), has had many so it’s nice to get on the board.”
The son of Aston Dee Bee has three wins from his first five starts and looks to be a significant player in next month’s Launching Pad series.
“He’s actually a brother to ‘Photo Man’ who has great ability so it’s very promising.”
“He’s been brilliant over the 460m at Warragul and this was his first 500m race so he will get stronger.”
Later on, powerful sprinter Soda Success turned heads with a come-from-behind victory in race 11.
After a slow exit from the boxes, he navigated his way through the field before storming home along the rail to score in a best-of-night 29.40.
Trainer Maxwell Auld is delighted with how his boy is tracking.
“He’ll go straight into the Launching Pad,” he said.
“Once he gets that clear air, he just goes for it. He was four or five lengths away coming off the back but I was confident he would chase them down.”
The win improves his Sandown record to three wins and two placing from six starts, including a slashing 29.24 on January 27.
With entry slots selling quickly, the fields for next month’s $460,000 Launching Pad series are shaping up to be some of the strongest the competition has seen.
Earlier in the night talented Kung Pow Kevin claimed his first Sandown victory and trainer Kate Gorman wasted no time locking in a slot, purchasing just 10 minutes after the race!
