Malavio upstaged a field full of Group 1 winners to win the Group 3 Tramway Stakes (1400m) in a head-bobbing finish with Darley gelding Bello in the sixth race at Royal Randwick this afternoon.
The Randwick track has favored on-pace runners all day and that trend continued in the Tramway Stakes, with the two leaders clearing away from the rest of the field in the concluding stages of the race.
Malavio started his spring campaign with an impressive fourth place finish behind Rebel Dane in the Group 3 Show County Quality (1200m) but was still at double figure odds to record his first win at Group level and give trainer Steve Englebrecht his first Group winner since Absolute Champion won the 2004 edition of the Pago Pago Stakes (1200m)
“It was an unbelievable run and an unbelievable ride,” a delighted Englebrecht said after the race.
“He had to do a little bit of work early but he has plenty of ticker the horse.
“He might be an Epsom horse.”
Jockey Nathan Berry recorded his first ever Group 3 win on Va Pensiero in The Run To The Rose (1200m) last Saturday and was thrilled to score another big win on a horse that holds a special place in his heart.
“It means a bit to me this horse,” Berry said.
“I’ve done a lot of work with him and Steve and the owners have been of great support to me my whole career.
“He is tough, he didn’t do much right down the straight but he did the job in the end.
“You have eight Group 1 winners in that and he is carrying 57.5 so I am over the moon.”
Horses at the back of the field had no chance to feature in the finish but Royal Descent (3rd) and Sacred Falls (4th) both indicated that they will be contenders in bigger races during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival with impressive fast-finishing efforts.