You would be hard-pressed to find a better-looking thoroughbred than Prince Of Sussex, who disappointed when backed off the map at his debut at Pakenham before making amends when opening his winning account in Saturday's $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush at Bendigo.
The son of first season sire Toronado (IRE) made no mistake here under Michael Dee to win eased down by two and a quarter lengths from the More Than Ready (USA) colt The Executioner with the Fighting Sun colt Groot a length back in third.
Trainer Matt Laurie said he has pencilled in the $1million Showdown for VOBIS-qualified horses to be run for the first time at Caulfield on April 27.
"It's a $1 million race here in Melbourne so it seems the logical plan," Laurie told racing.com.
"We've always had a good feeling about this horse and obviously we were very disappointed with his first start but we freshened him up and approached it a little bit different and that was awesome.
"He obviously just got super, super lost (in his debut) but his trial was very impressive at Cranbourne and he's such a magnificent horse."
A $145,000 purchase by Carringbush Park out of the Swettenham Stud draft at the 2018 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Prince Of Sussex (pictured as a yearling) is the second foal of the Testa Rossa mare Il Diamante who showed ability in her four starts for Peter Moody winning on debut at Cranbourne and placing at Sandown and Sale before finishing her career on the track with a fourth at Sandown.
Il Diamante is a half-sister to the multiple stakes-placed Montauk (More Than Ready) out of the well-performed Octagonal mare Diamond Cove a Listed stakes-winner of seven races from the family of Charge Forward and Kidman's Cove.
The daughter of Testa Rossa has a filly foal by Toronado (IRE) but missed to the Swettenham Stud stallion last spring.
