New Stakes-Winner for Sebring
Unfancied in Saturday’s Listed BRC Radiotab The Wayne Wilson Plate (1600m), the Tony McEvoy-trained Vinland provided South African born jockey Barend Vorster with the perfect welcome to Queensland.
It was the first stakes win for Vinland who was coming off a hard-charging sixth in the Group III SAJC RA Lee Stakes at Morphettville on May 18.
In a driving finish Vinland scored a long-head win with McEvoy declaring only bad luck had stopped the 4yo son of Sebring being a stakes-winner before now.
“He’s been a very unlucky horse, he gets back in the run and relies on the breaks and as we know they rarely come,” McEvoy said.
“He needed a track like Eagle Farm with its beautiful big expanses to allow him to wind up and get a real shot at them.
“He’s a horse I’ve had black type thoughts about for a long time and this looked a really good race for him today and fantastic to reward the owners for their patience.
“When he gets the opportunity like he did today, he showed he’s a pretty good horse.
“Hopefully this is a building block for bigger things, there is an 1800 metre race (Tatts Plate) in a fortnight’s time and we’ll see if he can continue his upward trend.”
Purchased by McEvoy Mitchell Racing for $340,000 out of the Blue Gum Farm draft at the 2016 Premier Yearling Sale, Vinland advances his record to five wins and three seconds from 18 starts with earnings of $325,600.
He is one of two winners from three to race out of the very talented Elusive Quality mare Viking Turf Belle a 5-time winner and Group II placed. Viking Turf Belle is a sister to Miss Valley Road, the dam of the MRC (RL) Inglis 2YO Premier winner Valliano and a half-sister to the Group II MRC Angus Armanasco Stakes runner-up Sayahailmary, the dam of Group II winner Mella Maria.
Vinland becomes the 54th stakes-winner for the late Widden Stud stalwart Sebring who died prematurely in February.
