DARK SON PAYS OFF
Months of preparations turned to family celebrations when Toowoomba gelding Dark Son franked his preseason potential with a classy victory in Saturday’s Toowoomba Truck Spares Pat O’Shea Plate (1000m) at Clifford Park.
Dark Son ($1.60) delivered for favourite punters with an all-the-way performance for jockey Emma Lung to take out Queensland’s opening twoyear-old event of the new racing season.
After soaking up a lot of early race pressure from Sassy Enuff ($3.60) Dark Son found plenty in the home straight to stave off his challengers by 13⁄4 lengths.
Evie’s Lass ($19) ran a bold race for the Matt Boland stable to get home late for second while the Jackie Crompton trained Funky Beat ($16) also produced a spirited debut effort to be just a short head back third.
Dark Son is prepared by Queensland’s first father-and-daughter training partnership — Tony and Maddysen Sears — with the pair officially becoming a team earlier this month.
“I’m very proud to win the race with Maddysen. It means a lot to me,” Tony said amid celebrations with Maddy, his wife Leigh, stable staff and Dark Son’s owner Zandra
Fleming.
The Better Than Ready youngster was bred at Warwick’s Lyndhurst Stud Farm and was a $130,000 Magic Millions March Yearling Sale purchase.
Tony said one more start is planned for Dark Son before spelling him ahead of a Magic Millions campaign.
“He’s a nice horse,” Tony said.
“He was made to work tonight and he was able to do it at both ends of the race and we’re very happy with that.
“It’s great to win Pat’s race and to do it for Mrs Fleming who has raced a lot of top horses with us.
“He’ll probably run again in two week’s time and then he’ll have a short break before we get him ready for the Magic Millions.”
The win also proved a triumph for Ljung whose two previous Pat O’Shea Plate rides resulted in an unplaced effort and a fall from Red Heavy in 2016.
“It was a great effort,” Ljung said.
“He had plenty of pressure applied to him early but he saw the race right out and was still strong on the line.”
Ljung had ridden both Dark Son and Sassy Enuff — who faded late to finish fourth — to barrier trial wins but stuck solid with Dark Son.
“I think both of them will go on to make nice horse, but I was keen to stay with Dark Son tonight,” Ljung said.
“I’ve ridden him in a few gallops and I really like his attitude.
“To me he seemed the right horse going forward into the race and it’s a thrill to be able win on him tonight.”
The Pat O’Shea Plate field was reduced to six runners when Eagle Farm filly Brook’s Girl was declared a late scratching on vet’s advice as the field was being loaded into the barriers.