The $1million Group II BRC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday featured a full field of talented juveniles with Extreme Choice colt Berzelius putting himself in the picture for a G1 future.
Trained by Michael Freedman, Berzelius was an eye-catching debut winner at Doomben in April and then was a well beaten fourth in the Group III Ken Russell Memorial Classic at the Gold Coast behind boom colt St Gotthard.
He did a few things wrong that day and did himself no favours, but G1 jockey Tommy Berry was keen to stick with the colt and some gear changes were made with visors and a cross over noseband added to the mix.
The change in gear and a great ride from Berry allowed Berzelius to show his talent with the colt still green under pressure, but doing his best work late he overhauled in form gelding Vantorix to win by a neck.
Undefeated coming into this race and a last start G2 winner, Vantorix was the testing material adding merit to the win of Berzelius.
Berzelius was a $340,000 Magic Millions purchase for Michael Freedman Racing/Michael Wallace/Kia Ora Stud from the draft of Newgate Farm, who retain a share in his ownership, with the colt carrying the colours of Kia Ora.
With two wins from three starts and over $630,000 in the bank, Berzelius will chase a G1 win at his next start with the Group I BRC JJ Atkins (1600m) looming large on the horizon.
“We really like this colt. We came up here and won his maiden at his first start and then he was a bit disappointing at the Gold Coast, but he never got around that track, and he needed headgear on because he was very green,” said stable representative Lee Freedman.
“Probably his last 200 was the best of the race at the Gold Coast, other than the winner, so we came here today thinking he wasn't a 20 to 1 shot, he was probably an 8 or 10 to 1 shot.”
Given Berzelius is a colt by a champion sire, the lure of achieving a G1 win at two is hard to resist with Lee Freedman confirming it was likely he would press on to the G1 JJ Atkins.
“I think so, although he's a work in progress and he'll be a better three-year-old,” Freedman added.
Bred by the Newgate partners and sporting the N brand of the farm, Berzelius is a half-brother to Group III placed Styling City and is the sixth winner from seven foals to race from stakes-winning Artie Schiller (USA) mare Secret Liaison, who produced a colt last spring by In The Congo, another of the young Newgate sires.
Berzelius is the 19th stakes-winner for Australia’s most expensive sire Extreme Choice, whose fee has been set at $385,000.
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