Every time the bar is raised for Incentivise, the son of Shamus Award continues to rise to the occasion.
He met a genuine top-liner in Verry Elleegant in Saturday’s $1million Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington and passed the test with flying colours. They did not make it easy for him. Fred Kersley on Mount Poppa made sure the rising star did not have a picnic in front.
Verry Elleegant crusied up on the home turm. But not long after, her challenge began to fizzle as Incentivise answered Brett Prebble’s every call.
The Peter Moody-trained gelding made it eight on the bounce to defeat the ATC Australian Derby runner-up Young Werther (Tavistock) by a half-length with a further one and a quarter lengths back Chapada (Bullet Train) in third.
“We needed to have a good gallop and take improvement out of today. Now we go to the Caulfield Cup, and Mount Popa made sure we had a good gallop,” Moody said.
“Brett thought that he wanted to be on the inside. He thought the inside was the best part of the track, so he made endeavours to hold that. It ended up being a good test.
“He showed a lot of courage. He’s a bloody tough horse.
“He’s been there to be beaten the length of the straight in both of his runs, but he’s shown terrific courage. This will really bring him on for the Caulfield Cup in two weeks.
“He came into this slightly soft. We are still learning about the horse, this will top him off.
“He’ll just stay at home he next two weeks at Pakenham. The team do a great job. They give us the facilities to train on. Big thanks to them. And also to the boys at Caulfield and Moonee Valley that have allowed us to have gallops there.
“He’ll do a bit of pace work on Saturday and have a little spin Tuesday week, something like that. I’ll see how he pulls up out of this. and that will guide me.”
Prebble said he was there to be beaten, and none could.
“It’s a big effort from him today. I’m proud of him,” Prebble said.
“They didn’t leave him alone, he didn’t get much peace, but I’m fortunate he’s a very kind horse and he doesn’t take the bridle. He conserves his energy.
“But he was going half-a-second quicker than I would have liked to for the first thousand, but then I let him work up through his gears from the half-mile. He gave me a good feel. I thought he was going to win and then he hit a flat patch about the 400 metres, and I would have liked another gear there, but there wasn’t.
“He couldn’t go much faster, but he could see that other horse coming at him. I really loved him last 100, he was strong through the line and was really in his groove today. It was a real stayers feel. He can take it and he cop whatever is served at him. He ran them into the ground. He showed today it was no fluke his last Group 1.”
With his second Group 1 win, Incentivise advances his record to eight wins from 11 starts with earnings of $1,491,200,
Incentivise is the best of the four stakes-winners for the stakes-placed Iglesia mare Miss Argyle.
He is a half-brother to the Group III ARC Concorde Handicap winner and Waikato Stud-based stallion Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice) and Listed winners Cheyenne Warrior (Not A Single Doubt) and Bergerac (Drumbeats).
A sister to dual Listed winner Diamondsondinside, Miss Argyle (Iglesia), died in September last year. Her final live foal is an unraced 3yo Golden Archer gelding named Argyle Lane.
Incentivise was the second stakes-winner on the day for Shamus Award after El Patroness in the Listed Super Impose Stakes.
The dual Group 1 winning son of Snitzel stands at Rosemont Stud for a fee of $33,000.
