Ciaron Maher and David Eustace took the wraps off another highly promising debutant for Extreme Choice in Vermentino, who made a one-act affair of an 1100m maiden at Hamilton on Tuesday.
Backed to the exclusion of everything else, Vermentino had to be used up early by Harry Coffey to cross from a wide gate and take up the running.
Sporting the silks of Seymour Bloodstock, the 3yo colt was entitled to feel the pinch in the straight but kept up a relentless gallop to defeat Paper Dragon (Charm Spirit) by two and a quarter lengths with Witness Ex (Star Witness) a further three and three-quarter lengths back in third.
“He is a bit new, and there is improvement there. He pinged the lids, and I just wanted to cruise across and be smooth, but I was going to get caught wide and had to use him,” Coffey said.
“I crossed them and got to the front but coming down the hill, on and off the bridle.
“I gave him a squeeze with my feet around the bend, and he responded, and when I started to stoke him up, he really responded.
“He is a playful bugger, but the ability is there, and he will go on from this.
“Whenever horses got near him, he pinned his ears right back, a very competitive horse.”
Bred by Yarraman Park Stud and Bell River Thoroughbreds, Vermentino failed to make his $100,000 reserve at the National Weanling Sale before selling to Ciaron Maher Racing / Astute Bloodstock (FBAA) for $210,000 when offered by Bell River Thoroughbreds at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
He is a half-brother to three winners headed by Denmagic (Denman), a 5-time stakes placegetter including the Group 1 VRC Myer Classic.
Vermentino is the seventh foal of Magic Zefta (Viscount) who Australian Bloodstock/Yarraman Park bought for $110,000 at the 2019 National Broodmare Sale.
A half-sister to Group II winner Go The Knuckle (Elvstroem), Magic Zefta is out of a sister to Magic Albert.
Magic Zefta has a yearling filly and filly and a colt foal by Hellbent.
Vermentino is the 14th first crop winner for Newgate Farm’s Extreme Choice, who has nine catalogued for the Inglis Classic and ten at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
