Primed to make his debut off the back of six barrier trials, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Flying Artie colt Lancelot Du Lac impressed onlookers at his first race start, with the half-brother to Group 1 Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot pulling clear to score by just shy of two and a half lengths.
Racing in the colours of Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, who not only bred the colt, but also his stakes winning half-siblings Lady Of Camelot, Queen Of The Ball and Platinum Jubilee, 3yo Lancelot Du Lac was well fancied in the Precise Air Handicap (1300m), jumping away as the race favourite.
With Michael Freedan’s Due North going forward under Tommy Berry to take up the running, Adam Hyeronimus was content to settle in second position aboard the Flying Artie colt.
As Due North appeared to get the better of Berry and went many lengths in front where the son of North Pacific still had three lengths on the rest of the field as they headed into the final bend, the favoured pair of Lancelot Du Lac as well as the Chris Waller trained Ichiban Koji were both ready to pounce.
Hyeronimus pushed the button on Lancelot Du Lac and he responded impressively, pulling away from the field to record a two and a half length debut victory from Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou’s Bello Cavallo who worked home well from a mid-field position.
The Waller trained stablemates Makhachev and Ichiban Koji finished in third and fourth.
Having ridden him in his first trial back in April, the only concern Hyeronimus had leading into the debut run was the distance of the race.
“I thought that was the query coming today was the distance,” said Hyeronimus.
“Very impressed for him to do that in his first race start.
“Jumped really well, with the blinkers on first time and to chase a leader like that, I was always sort of confident through the run, but it's not easy for a horse first time out to be carting the rest of the field up, but not only that, he won dominantly.
“So, it's very impressive and that obviously goes to Gai and Adrian. They've done the right thing by him, and it's worked out well tonight.”
Becoming the fourth winner from four to the races out of the Listed-winning Fastnet Rock mare Miss Debutante, Lancelot Du Lac joins Group 1 Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) and Group 3 winners Quen Of The Ball (I Am Invincible) and Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar), so clearly the colt has a plenty to live up to!
Miss Debutante has an unraced 2yo fill by I Am Invincible named Lone Piper in the stable of Chris Waller, and while the mare unfortunately missed the following season to Zoustar, she foaled a filly in September this year by the very same Widden Stud-based stallion, with the resulting foal being a full to Platinum Jubilee.
Surprisingly Lancelot Du Lac, who is bred on a potent cross with 12 winners from just 14 runners is the lone colt foaled by Miss Debutante from her six foals to date.
The sire of the recently crowned European Champion Sprinter Asfoora, as well as the multiple Group 1 winner Artorius who will be represented by his first crop of yearlings in 2026, is winding up his current season where he stood at a fee of $11,000 (inc. GST) at Victoria’s Blue Gum Farm.
