The Written Tycoon gelding Balf's Choice looked anything but a future stakes winner when he travelled far and wide to break his maiden at Mildura at his ninth start.
The Ryan Balfour-trained 5yo gradually improved throughout last season winning four of his 11 starts including the last three on the trot.
He made it four in a row at Morphettville at his 5yo bow on August 12.
The winning run was snapped at his most recent start in a benchmark 82 at Morphettville.
With WA champion William Pike taking the ride in Wednesday's Listed The Advertiser Newspapers Balaklava Cup (1600m), Balf's Choice worked to the front and was never headed.
Keeping up a relentless gallop, Balf's Choice defeated the
"I'm ecstatic, just over the moon, Balfour told Racing.com.
"The way (Pike) summed the race up. I told him his usual pattern was to let him chase.
"We were concerned about the pace but he just summed things up and he got a real soft run to the 800 and then from the 800 to the 400 he skipped away and he was always going to be strong late.
"So much credit goes to him (Pike)."
A $20,000 purchase by his trainer out of the Ducatoon Park draft at the 2014 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, Balf's Choice advances his record to 7 wins, 2 seconds and 4 thirds from 23 starts with earnings of $228,580.
He is the fifth foal and fourth winner out of the 4-time winning Celtic Swing mare Not Jude's Choice who is a half-sister to Group III placed Flying Spur mare Roedean who was first past the post in the $1 million Group I Blue Diamond Stakes before being taken down when she tested positive to a banned substance.
Roedean is the dam of the multiple stakes-placed Holyonny (Lonhro).
Not Jude's Choice has a 3yo colt by Americain (USA) and a 2yo filly by Dalakhani (IRE).
Balf's Choice becomes the 20th stakes-winner for Woodside Park Stud's Written Tycoon who stands for a fee of $88000 in 2017.
