The most expensive yearling from the first crop of another of the Newgate Farm young guns in Winning Rupert, Team Hawkes trained Tonneofgrit opened his winning account at Geelong on Sunday.
Slowly away when finishing fifth at his first start at Pakenham last month, Tonneofgrit took benefit from that outing and was more tractable this time.
He found the front and repelled a determined bid from I Am Invincible filly Forbidden City over the concluding stages to score a three-quarter length win in the 1200m maiden.
A $425,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Newgate Farm draft for Hawkes Racing, Tonneofgrit runs for a big group of owners headed by Rupert Legh in whose colours he runs.
Bred by SF Bloodstock and foaled and raised at Newgate, Tonneofgrit is the first foal of US Group II winner Istanford (USA), whose second foal, a colt by Capitalist sold for $150,000 at Magic Millions this year to Prime Thoroughbreds.
Tonneofgrit is the sixth winner for Written Tycoon’s brilliant sprinter Winning Rupert, who stands at Newgate this spring at a fee of $11,000.
