Leading Victorian trainer Mick Price has introduced yet another Caulfield Guineas contender with Lord Sherwood recording a gutsy win on debut in the De Bortoli Wines Plate (1200m) at Cranbourne today.

Lord Sherwood will join Resistant and a host of other Mick Price-trained colts on a Caulfield Guineas path. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia

Lord Sherwood was well backed in the lead-up to the race but gave punters a scare when he was challenged by Export Quality in the straight, after being ridden on pace in the early stages of the race.

The Encosta De Lago colt was able to dig deep in the final stages of the race and find something extra to score a one length win from Export Quality and Thanks A Million.

Although the debut win was nowhere near as impressive as that of Longma in the Ballarat Gold Rush Plate (1100m) at Werribee yesterday or Worth A Ransom in the Laser Electrical Maiden (1200m) at Echuca last week, Price is still confident that Lord Sherwood can be a contender in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m).

“He can have a little break now and he’ll make a nice spring colt,” Price said in a post-race interview.

“Those races that lead into the Caulfield Guineas are usually all 1200 metres, so he’ll go into a 1200, up in class and come back off the speed a little bit.

“1400 metres will be beautiful and he will make a lovely 1600-metre horse.”

A couple of members of Price’s team of rising-three-year-olds will be on show at Flemington this Saturday with Resistant and Worth A Ransom both set to contest the Riverdale Inglis Bonus Plate (1400m).

Resistant has had six career starts since making his debut in November, highlighted by a narrow victory in the Abbie Fennessy Memorial Plate (1100m) at Caulfield in December and a third-place finish behind Honey’s Steel Gold and The Bowler in the Listed Taj Rossi Series Final (1600m) at his last start.