The Paul Preusker-trained Steparty stretched his unbeaten record to four with a dominant performance in Saturday’s Listed McMahon's Dairy McKenzie Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Vally.
Stepping up to stakes company for the first time after wins at Ballarat and twice at Flemington at two, the son of Artie Schiller (USA) sat off the speed set by Introducing before John Allen asked for an effort. He found an immediate response with Steparty strong to the line in ending the winning run of the justify colt Scentify by a length and a quarter with the Brave Smash (JPN) colt Brave Mead a long-head back in third.
Paul Preusker continues a Caulfield Guineas path for the unbeaten colt who will likely prep for the Group 1 feature in the Group III Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) on September 23.
“He just keeps raising the bar, I’ll be excited to go to the next one, there’s not much work to do, he’s just tick over, tick over so we’ve left ourselves in a good spot, and I think the horse will enjoy it and make some improvement so look out,” Preusker said.
“He just possesses too good a speed really., I’m a bit of a get-back, run-on man but slowly, I’m learning to work with them. But I still watch him in his work at home, he’s a brilliant horse a long way off them, he sits on a tight trail, he just hasn’t been in that spot yet; I’m sure we’ll get it some day on race day.
“It’s been an amazing effort, I never really set out to race him, I think we were going to look at races at Donald, races at Swan Hill just to educate him. He’s just a tough horse from the get-go, I remember a couple of jumpers he was working with them and even as a two-year-old, just the slow miles he could work with good chasers.
“We’ll just poke away, and it happens, good journey for me, good learning for me off this horse, and I’ll ride it right until the end.
“We’ll go to Caulfield next; just tick that box and make sure we’re doing the right thing there too. I think a mile’s an easy ask for him, he’s certainly got the capacity, so I’m not frightened of that at all.
“He’s a beautiful striding horse, he’s never really gotten to use it yet, but anyway, we’ll just keep dissolving it as we go and go from there.”
A half-brother to Group III Red Anchor Stakes runner-up and $1,000,000 The Showdown third, Scissor Step (Toronado), Steparty is a homebred for Greg Baldwin and partners.
The son of Artie Schiller is the second winner from as many to race for Watch Your Step, which Baldwin purchased from Mick Leonard’s Millwater Farm, who paid $13,000 for the unraced daughter of Sepoy from the Contract Racing draft at the 2019 Great Southern Sale when carrying a filly by Adelaide.
Watch Your Step has a 2yo filly by Rich Enufff and was covered by Fierce Impact (JPN) last spring.
Steparty is the 57th stakes-winner for Artie Schiller (USA). The 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile hero earned an honourable pension after covering 18 mares in 2021. The son of El Prado left 12 foals in his final crop born last spring.
