Exciting prospect Mr Scorsese (NZ) (Pentire) did not let his legion of backers down in Friday night's $75,000 Novice race over 1200m, but not without giving them a few heart flutters midrace.
The short-priced $7 favourite was all the rage to bring up a double after his superlative debut win three weeks ago, more so when the original field was stripped of the two horses who had any chance of downing him in the unlikely event he puts a foot wrong – Lim's Archer (Authorised) and Little Big Man (NZ) (Showcasing).
But they had not reckoned with an unlikely enemy – himself.
The beginning was troublefree enough with jockey Vlad Duric allowing the Pentire three-year-old to drop to the rear as he did at his debut, seeing them all, but travelling comfortably.
Upfront, Archew (Northern Meteor) led from Mr Scorsese's stablemate Miss Blanchett (NZ) (Battle Paint), setting a decent tempo that Mr Scorsese was able to keep up within a reasonable distance.
The first signs of trouble did not, however, take long to surface the moment Duric decided to up the ante from the 700m. While Mr Scorsese did improve on the outside, he was worryingly doing everything wrong at the same time – zigzagging around, shying away, throwing his head around.
But Duric is no greenhorn and has seen it all before. It was definitely not the flowing momentum the Caulfield Cup-winning jockey had hoped for but he did not let up on him and in the end Mr Scorsese's sheer class came to the fore.
Levelling up with Irish galloper Dreamweaver from the 400m, the ash-grey gelding could not quite ping for a while, but under hard riding, stuck to his task to eventually draw clear for a two-and-a-half length margin that did his lofty standing better justice.
Trainer Laurie Laxon, who is now one win short of the 1,200 mark, was full of praise for the Oscar Racing Stable's latest find and seemingly unconcerned about the lack of tractability, which he said he was already on top of.
"He wobbled around the turns and was eight wide and deserved to get beat," he said in his own exaggerated style (there were only seven runners in the race).
"But he was too good for them in the end. He's already worn blinkers in a trial some time ago and he'll be a different horse next time."
That "next time" will be the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) on April 24 and hopefully the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) on May 15, respectively the second and third Legs of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, which the Laxon yard had already eyed as Mr Scorsese's target after his debut win.
The two wins have already brought Mr Scorsese's earnings past the $80,000 mark. -STC
The short-priced $7 favourite was all the rage to bring up a double after his superlative debut win three weeks ago, more so when the original field was stripped of the two horses who had any chance of downing him in the unlikely event he puts a foot wrong – Lim's Archer (Authorised) and Little Big Man (NZ) (Showcasing).
But they had not reckoned with an unlikely enemy – himself.
The beginning was troublefree enough with jockey Vlad Duric allowing the Pentire three-year-old to drop to the rear as he did at his debut, seeing them all, but travelling comfortably.
Upfront, Archew (Northern Meteor) led from Mr Scorsese's stablemate Miss Blanchett (NZ) (Battle Paint), setting a decent tempo that Mr Scorsese was able to keep up within a reasonable distance.
The first signs of trouble did not, however, take long to surface the moment Duric decided to up the ante from the 700m. While Mr Scorsese did improve on the outside, he was worryingly doing everything wrong at the same time – zigzagging around, shying away, throwing his head around.
But Duric is no greenhorn and has seen it all before. It was definitely not the flowing momentum the Caulfield Cup-winning jockey had hoped for but he did not let up on him and in the end Mr Scorsese's sheer class came to the fore.
Levelling up with Irish galloper Dreamweaver from the 400m, the ash-grey gelding could not quite ping for a while, but under hard riding, stuck to his task to eventually draw clear for a two-and-a-half length margin that did his lofty standing better justice.
Trainer Laurie Laxon, who is now one win short of the 1,200 mark, was full of praise for the Oscar Racing Stable's latest find and seemingly unconcerned about the lack of tractability, which he said he was already on top of.
"He wobbled around the turns and was eight wide and deserved to get beat," he said in his own exaggerated style (there were only seven runners in the race).
"But he was too good for them in the end. He's already worn blinkers in a trial some time ago and he'll be a different horse next time."
That "next time" will be the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1400m) on April 24 and hopefully the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) on May 15, respectively the second and third Legs of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge, which the Laxon yard had already eyed as Mr Scorsese's target after his debut win.
The two wins have already brought Mr Scorsese's earnings past the $80,000 mark. -STC