Efflorescence was truly dominant getting off the mark with victory at Ballarat as Anthony Freedman trains his first winner for Phoenix Thoroughbreds.
Following two promising efforts the son of I Am Invincible was sent off favourite for the 1400m contest on the synthetic track and was given a very positive ride from Billy Egan.
Firing out from the barriers the colt was soon in a commanding lead with first-time blinkers seemingly giving him a renewed focus. Always at least a length in front, he kicked for home around the turn. Any concerns the Phoenix Thoroughbreds owned runner had gone two quickly were quickly dismissed as he found another gear with a furlong and a half to go and ran out a two and half-length winner.
“His jump-outs have been excellent,” assistant trainer Sam Freedman told racing.com post-race. “He just got caught wide at Swan Hill (last time) and the blinkers going on and out to 1400 it was a really good result particularly for Phoenix Thoroughbreds who put a lot into the industry. They’ve supported us with a couple of horses and this is our first runner for them so we’re very happy to get a result for them.
“It was a lot more professional today than he has been in his first two starts. He’s been a bit slow away and he’s just been a bit raw. He’s a horse that’s probably six months away from filling out into his frame and hopefully he\s a colt that can so a bit of promise with a short break under his belt.”
All things being equal it’s likely the colt will now have a short spell and return with an eye to step him up in class in the near future.