A scintillating debut from Pendragon three year-old The Peak clinched a rewarding weekend for Think Big Stud graduates with the gelding's Sha Tin victory on Sunday evening coming a day after Liveandletdie made a blistering return to racing at Flemington.
The Peak (pictured courtesy SCMP Kenneth Chan) is the first of Pendragon's progeny to race in Hong Kong and he showed all the attributes of a performer who will make his mark in the Asian racing hub.
Under the direction of jockey Douglas Whyte he jumped well to settle comfortably in behind the leaders, loomed up when asked to take the front early in the straight and then held his rivals at bay.
The success also lifted Pendragon's tally to six individual winners from only 12 starters and is a timely reminder of the sire's burgeoning influence ahead of the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale in March where three of his progeny will go under the hammer.
"I was very pleased with The Peak because John [Size] has really brought him a long way since I first sat on the horse... he has furnished physically and even more mentally. He was very tractable today - I could have led, but he was just as happy sitting in third or fourth," Whyte told the South China Morning Post after the win.
"[The Peak] found a rhythm and found the line and he showed good courage because the second horse came to beat him."
Fellow 'home bred' Liveandletdie was equally as dynamic at Flemington 24 hours earlier when reminding rivals he is on track to again be a player in some of Australia's better sprints. At his first run in 2012 the entire overcame a chequered run to burst between rivals and score a memorable first-up win.
The Heron Bridge Handicap (1200m) was the fifth victory for the four-year-old son of Street Cry in only 13 career starts and lifted his earnings to over $276,000.
The win was little surprise to trainer Mark Kavanagh and owner Laurence Eales with Liveandletdie having shown his liking for the straight track in 2011 when racing away with the Listed Creswick Stakes under the same conditions.
The manner of Saturday's display is likely to see Liveandletdie given his chance in better contests and Kavanagh holds a nomination for him in the $1 million G1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m). With three wins from four attempts over the Flemington straight 1200m the chestnut deserves his chance in Australia's richest sprint.
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