Placed in the Group II Peter Young Stakes and Group III Hotham Hcp, the Michael Moroney import Emissary (GB) broke thorough at his seventh start in his adopted homeland in Saturday’s Listed Tile Importer Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield.
Ridden by Jye McNeil, Emissary (GB) defeated the Sydney Cup runner-up Sheraz (FRA) (Sea The Stars) by a half-length with the same distance back to Jimmy The Bear (Jimmy Creed) in third.
The 6yo Juddmonte-bred son of Kingman won two of his five starts in Britain for Hugo Palmer. He contested the 2020 Epsom Derby, a race won by his half-brother a decade earlier before adding the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Consigned by Juddmonte to the 2020 Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale, Emissary (GB) was a 350,000gns purchase for Armando Duarte / Ballymore Stables Australia / Paul Moroney Bloodstock.
Mike Moroney nominated the Naturalism Stakes as a possible next start.
“He showed us glimpses last time around,” Moroney said.
“We bought a couple of horses out of the English Derby, and he was one of them, and he’s really gone on with it.
“I think you’ll see him at his best this season now. We gelded him straight away when we brought him across, and I think that’s been a big help.
“He’s a really nice horse, and he’s going to be a lightweight chance in some of these Cups I would think.
“We sort of threw him in the deep end a bit in the autumn because we thought he was good enough, and now he comes to handicaps, he’s going to be nicely in, I would think.”
“He’s by Kingman, who’s a great sire, and I think he’s a half to a two-mile winner, so it’s a really good cross.”
McNeil said the son of Kingman works like a good horse.
“It was a great first-up performance. I trialled him last week and he went fantastic at Flemington, so I knew he’d run really well today,” McNeil said.
“I just needed an ounce of luck from the awkward barrier draw. I got that, had the right run in transit and he was fantastic.
“In the trial he just gave me such a good feel and he did it all on his own merit, and today he just backed it up with a fantastic performance.”
Emissary (GB) is the 49th stakes-winner for Kingman.
