Seventh on debut behind boom filly Estijaab on debut earlier this month, the Peter and Paul Snowden trained colt did plenty wrong on that occasion, but showed the benefit of race experience this time around.
Given a text book ride by Josh Parr from barrier two, Saint Antonio Lad enjoyed a cosy run behind the leaders and when angled into the clear quickly accelerated to take the lead and win the 1000 metre juvenile maiden by three-quarters of a length.
“He’s always worked well, but everything went wrong the other day,” said Paul Snowden.
“He’s still soft, so will only improve and he has a lot of upside.”
As a $100,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Sledmere Stud draft for Snowden Racing, Saint Antonio Lad is eligible for the $250,000 Inglis Classic at Warwick Farm on February 10.
Newgate Farm offered an incentive bonus at that sale last year with $100,000 to be paid to the official purchaser of any horse by Newgate Farm’s three first season sires – Sizzling, Eurozone and The Factor (USA) – that could return and win the $250,000 Inglis Classic.
Saint Antonio Lad is now in line for that bonus, so could enjoy a very lucrative day for connections if his good form continues.
A half-brother to stakes-placed Bubbleobill and Danish Shadow, Saint Antonio Lad is the fifth winner from Catrille, a half-sister to Group II winner Mamzelle Pedrille and to the dam of Group I winner Diamond Drille from the family of leading sire I Am Invincible.
Catrille produced another colt by Sizzling last spring and was covered by the Group I winning son of Snitzel again.
To view Sledmere Stud’s 2018 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft, click HERE.