Synthetic track meetings at Ballarat can throw up some misleading form, but a debut winner from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable that started in the red and won by nine lengths is probably worth a closer look.
Three year-old Grunt gelding Mr Blunt was backed as though unbeatable and proved to be exactly that when racing away to win the 1200m maiden by daylight with Harry Coffey on board.
Retained to race by his breeder Paul Schauble, Mr Blunt is a horse a lot of people will look forward to seeing again on the grass.
“He was good,” said Harry Coffey Coffey.
“He probably didn’t beat much, but he continued to build his gallop.
“He didn’t have a great turn of foot, but he kept building and took a lot of pulling up.
“Mr Blunt is a bit of a lad and a bit boisterous so plenty of work to be done but you can only win, and he did that.
“He’s hard work but the team have done a really good job with him. The trackwork team and all the crew at the stables do a good job and it makes my job easy when they come to the races, behave, jump on the speed, out cruise their rivals, it makes me look really good.”
Mr Blunt is the fourth winner from six to race from Pitch Black, an unraced half-sister by Kheleyf (GB) to Group I Winning HK Horse of the Year Desert Eagle (Grand Delight) from stakes-winner Egyptian Ibis.
He is the 60th winner this season for Grunt, who stands at Yulong at a fee of $19,800.
