Splurge Sensational

The Informant reports:

Splurge rose to the big time in Saturday's Gr. 3 Darley Plate at Ellerslie and produced a sensational performance, winning his fourth race from five starts this preparation and setting up a possible Australian campaign.

A half-million-dollar yearling, the son of Savabeel had impressed in his brief career to date but appeared to be unsuited to the set weights and penalties conditions of today's $100,000 sprint feature - carrying just one kilogram less than Natuzzi, despite being rated 16 points lower than the multiple Group One placegetter.

His prospects looked bleak when he was four wide into the first turn after breaking slowly from gate nine, but rider Opie Bosson was able to move him forward and slide across to sit in fifth place and one off the rail.

Volks Lightning came from behind him in the straight to sprint to the lead 200 metres from home, but Splurge found another gear and accelerated impressively. He finished over the top of Volks Lightning and won by a widening margin of a length and a quarter.

“He's a very nice horse,” Bosson said. “I possibly didn't realise until now how good he is. His attitude has changed and he's just kept improving. Gee he was good today. He chased the other horse down and won it pretty easily in the end.”

It was the third win on the card for Bosson, who had previously been successful aboard Ja Ja Binks and Peaky Blinders.

Splurge is trained by Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards for his owners the Te Akau 2014 Breeding Syndicate - who also raced Xtravagant. He has now had 10 starts for six wins, two placings and more than $127,000 in prize-money.

“We've always known that he's a real racehorse,” Autridge said. “He doesn't mind if it's a wet track or a dry track, and he seems to just know where the post is.

“We weren't sure if the race today might be a bit too short for him, but he got up and won it. He's a serious racehorse.

“We'll wait and see where we go from here. We'll take him home, see how he comes through this and take it from there. I think he'd definitely be up to going ot Australia, maybe Brisbane in the winter.”

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz