AT A time when $1 million races are hardly scarce in Australian racing, you'd figure a $60,000 winner's cheque is relatively small potatoes. But when you are a young trainer looking for that horse to hang your business on, it's all about the future and yesterday at Caulfield was a big step forward for Matt Laurie.
The 31-year-old Mornington trainer's colt The Travelling Man put paid to several Blue Diamond Stakes aspirations with his all-the-way win in the colt's Preview while also proving his own credentials for the $1m group 1 next month. ''If something like this doesn't get me some more horses, I don't know what will,'' Laurie said after the race.
Laurie not only prepares the colt but picked him out at the New Zealand Select Sales last year. He went to New Zealand with the budget to buy one horse, and although forced to go higher than he hoped at $80,000, he eventually took home the son of Mossman. ''He was such a cracking type, I was happy to have him,'' Laurie said. ''He showed something from the first day he galloped and, look, he did a few things wrong in his only run in the spring, but has matured from that.''
The Travelling Man opened as much as $17 in the early markets for yesterday's race but started at $6.50 after constant money for the colt. Under in-form rider Ben Melham, he was the quickest away and never gave anything else a chance as he ran clear for a 1¼-length win over No Smoken ($21) with a further 3½ lengths to the fast-finishing Timely Truce ($11) in third place.
Laurie, who enjoyed his first stakes win yesterday, said he was likely to continue on toward the Blue Diamond Stakes for which the horse is rated at $9, but another trainer, Danny O'Brien, was cold on the idea of chasing Victoria's premier two-year-old race with yesterday's $2.80 favourite Cambiaso, which raced handy but faded to finish fourth. ''He had no real excuses, and on that, you'd be hard pressed going on to the Diamond,'' O'Brien said.
Just 35 minutes later, in the Preview for fillies, punters launched on the odds-on favourite Sweet Little Lies, which was backed from $1.85 to $1.70, but again they were left empty-handed when the filly led but weakened out of a place in the race won by debut filly Malasun.
Also purchased for $80,000 as a yearling, Malasun was syndicated by BC3 Thoroughbreds, and the daughter of Red Ransom was last night installed the third favourite at $8 behind Jimando ($5) and Raceway ($5.50) and for the Blue Diamond following her impressive victory.
Malasun ($8.50) was ridden by Damien Oliver, who settled the filly off the pace set by Sweet Little Lies and Members Joy ($10) but once the field turned for home, she ran past the leaders to score by 1¼ lengths from Members Joy with a half length to Sabie ($10) which edged out the hot favourite for third.
Sweet Little Lies' rider Chris Symons was nonplussed with his filly's weakening effort. ''She just didn't find much at all,'' he said.
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