Having his first start for new trainer Darren Weir at Flemington on Saturday,
brilliant three year-old Nature Strip lugged 60.5 kg to a scintillating four
and a half length win in the open three year-old event over 1100 metres.He hit the wire in a time of 1:02.26. That was just 0.11s outside the 1100-metre course record set by Loveyamadly in 2013 when she raced on a Good 3, while Nature Strip raced on a Soft 5.
Weir has only had the horse six weeks after early stints with Caulfield trainers Robert Smerdon, Robert Hickmott and John Sadler and thanked those trainers for shaping a ready-made star.
"They did all the hard work on this horse and then he came to me," Weir said. "I got the horse at the right time. I haven't improved him. He's just a really good horse.
"It looked like he was playing with them and enjoying it so that's a really good sign.
"I just wanted to see him do it because there's such a hype on him. Jarrod (McLean) who I regard as a great mate and great for my stable, he said 'He's a machine'.
"He works with all my good horses and he knows them and he said 'Well,
this one's a beauty'."Passed in at the 2016 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, where he was offered by Golden Grove Stud, Nature Strip has now won five of eight starts earning over $400,000 in prizemoney.
Bred by Golden Grove, Nature Strip is a half-brother to stakes-winner The Barrister from Group III winning Desert Sun (GB) mare Strikeline.
Nicconi covered 200 plus books of mares in his past two seasons and has had a fee rise this spring to $24,750 and is filling fast.
Widden based sires found Flemington a happy hunting ground on Saturday with smart Sebring two year-old Good 'n' Fast taking out the juvenile event and classy Star Witness stayer Lycurgus scoring his sixth win to lift his prizemoney total in excess of $380,000.
