After watching on as former pupil Vega One blitzed the field in the Listed Queensland Day Stakes, John Thompson had his own reason to cheer when the three-year-old Pins colt Purple Sector earned his first black-type in Saturday's Group III Rough Habit Plate at Doomben.
It was a pretty easy watch as Blake Shinn guided Purple Sector to win by two and a quarter lengths from A Man To Match (High Chaparral) with the odds-on favourite Dealmaker (Dundeel) one and a half lengths back in third.
Thompson obviously holds the Pins colt in high regard as has been taking on the silk department since breaking his maiden at Kembla Grange last September.
"We wanted to spell him in Queensland so we picked out this race to aim at before he went out," Thompson told AAP.
"It worked out nice. He had a good barrier, a good run throughout the race and I was confident from the jump.
"He doesn't run past 2000m. We've tried him and he just doesn't run it out.
"He suffered a few heavy tracks down south and got a bad check in the Rosehill Guineas but he got a lovely run today and that made the difference."
Purchased by Duncan Ramage's DGR Thoroughbred Services for $60,000 out of the Trelawney Stud draft at the 2017 NZB Premier Yearling Sale, 2 wins, 1 second and 3 thirds from 13 starts with earnings of $203,750.
He is the best of five winners from as many to race out of the Zabeel mare Eden Valley who is a winning sister to Group 1 STC Ansett Australia Stakes winner Hill Of Grace and Group II MRC Autumn Classic winner Renewable.
Eden Valley was purchased by Inner Mongolia Rider Horse Industry for $10,000 at the 2018 NZB Karaka May Sale .
Her yearling colt by Sacred Falls was purchased by Mulcaster Bloodstock for $160,000 at this year's NZB Karaka Yearling Sale Book 1.
At the time of her sale, Eden Valley was carrying a Vesper colt and she was bred back to Mongolian Falcon.
Purple Sector becomes the 84th stakes-winner for Waikato Stud's sadly-missed Pins.
