Payne Looking For Silver At Rosehill
- Tuesday, 16 December 2014 07:32
The form from a race in France almost 18 months ago gives trainer David Payne hope he has a future star on his hands in It's A Silver Trail.
In June last year, the then-named Silver Trail beat Flintshire by a length in a three-year-old race at Longchamp.
Flintshire is now a world star with his victory in Sunday's Hong Kong Vase reward for his seconds in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders Cup Turf.
It's A Silver Trail, on the other hand, has not won a race since Longchamp and makes his Australian debut in a much lower grade at Rosehill on Saturday in either the Metro Plate (1900m) or a benchmark 85 over 1500m.
"The form looks good from that race in France and I hope it comes back, but he hasn't shown too much yet," Payne said.
"He's a stayer so I'm leaning to starting him in the 1900 metre race rather than over the 1500 with Blake Shinn to ride."
The gelding is part-owned by Australian Bloodstock which has enjoyed its biggest success so far with last month's Melbourne Cup win of Protectionist.
The syndication company sources stayers from Europe with It's A Silver Trail and Terrubi, who finished third in the race at Longchamp, with Payne at Rosehill.
Protectionist and Terrubi were formerly trained by Andreas Wohler in Germany while It's A Silver Trail won his first two starts under Mikel Delzangles, trainer of 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden who returned to Australia the following year to win the Caulfield Cup.
Terrubi beat high-profile stayer Brown Panther to win the Group Two Prix Nieuil but finished a distant last in the Group One Preis Von Baden which was to have been his Melbourne Cup lead-up.
But he arrived in Australia underweight and Payne elected to send him to the paddock instead.
"He has just started work and looks lovely," Payne said.
"He's nice and robust now which is great to see."
