Promising colt Tarquin will head to the 2015 Sires Produce Stakes at Royal Randwick on April 4 after he took out the Pago Pago Stakes at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon.
Tarquin was settled towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the race and he had plenty of work to do in the final stages of the race, but he stormed home late to run down Odyssey Moon in the final stages of the race.
Tarquin will head to the Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes at Royal Randwick after winning the Pago Pago Stakes. Photo by Steve Hart
The Pago Pago Stakes victory gives Tarquin ballot-exempt entry into the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens next weekend, but trainer John O’Shea said after the race that the two-year-old would likely miss the $3.5 million race and be saved for the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) and Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1800m) a fortnight later,
“We have always really liked him and we thought that he would run well today,” O’Shea said.
“The tempo of the race meant that Tarquin was brought into and James little colt (Inner Circle) ran out of his skin, but he is just not ready yet and we have said that all along.
“Tarquin has a very, very bright future and going forward into the Sires Produce and the Champagne he will be quiet effective.
“I have to speak to the boss about it yet, but we have good representation there (in the Golden Slipper) and this is a colt that we have had an eye on those races right from the time that he came into the stable.
“We didn’t expect him to win a race like this, but he has stood up and been counted today.”
Godolphin-retained jockey William Buick will be riding in Australia throughout the 2015 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival and he timed his run on Tarquin perfectly to score his first race win in Australia.
Buick said after the race that he was impressed with the effort of Tarquin and, like O’Shea, he believes that the two-year-old will be able to produce an even better performance when he is given an opportunity over a longer trip.
“It is a privilege to be able to come over here and ride in these races,” Buick said.
“He is a lovely horse, he is still immature and he is still going the right way.
“He is a miler in the maker.”
Team Snowden-trained Paceman was never able to settle during the run and he will likely be sent back to the paddock after his second straight lackluster performance.
