Leading South Australian trainer Tony McEvoy is waiting for the ‘penny to drop’ for his two year old The Voice and hopes it will be tomorrow when he lines up in the Group 2 $250,000 Al Basti Equiworld BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1350) at Doomben.
The Voice winning the South Australian Sires' Produce Stakes at Morphettville. Photo by Jenny Barnes.
The Voice has arrived in Brisbane after taking out the Group 3 $115,000 Sportingbet South Australian Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville on April 20 with McEvoy hoping the travelling will help the youngster grow up.
“He’s always shown me really nice talent but he’s such a juvenile in the way he’s gone about his business. He’s just been playing around and having fun and thinking it’s just a game,” McEvoy said.
“When the penny does drop with him I think he has really good upside. It’s a bit of a gamble to take him away but we took the view that travelling turns boys into men and that’s what I am banking on, that the trip away will help him grow up and focus.”
McEvoy was greeted with barrier fifteen in the sixteen horse field, but the top trainer is banking on the booking of Glen Boss to negate the horror draw.
Boss has the Melbourne jockey’s premiership wrapped up with sixty-four wins and also set a new prizemoney earnings record for one season on Victorian tracks when he surpassed Damien Oliver’s mark to register $9,216,360 after riding three fourth placings at Ballarat on Thursday.
Boss has been reluctant to ride outside of Melbourne in the last couple of months in an endeavour to win his first metropolitan title and missed most of the Sydney Autumn Carnival and the first half of the Brisbane Winter Carnival.
The Melbourne Cup winning jockey will have to call on all of his talent to ensure that The Voice gets every opportunity to win from the horror barrier.
“It is certainly going to make the job more difficult for him,” McEvoy said.
“But the 1350m is about the only start where you can draw wide at Doomben because it has got that big long run down the back and thankfully I’ve got G Boss.”
Glen is a high class rider who does his form better than anyone. But the barrier is a big disadvantage that’s for sure.”
McEvoy is pleased with the way the Northern Meteor two year old has settled into his Queensland surroundings and was more than satisfied with his final gallop on Wednesday morning.
“I was there to give him his final bit of work and he was very bright and well and I am very pleased with where he is at but we are now in the lap of luck.”
The Chris Waller trainer Zoustar heads the Sires’ market at $3.50 just ahead of local filly Missy Longstocking at $3.80.
Sydney filly Bound For Earth shares the next line of betting with Hooked at $7.50 with Waller’s other runner Vilanova a $8.50 chance with The Voice at the good odds of $21.
