Saturday's Group III Up And Coming Stakes at Randwick was chockful of promising three-year-olds that were aiming for better things down the track but few on course were prepared for the drama that followed.
In a field that featured yearling prices ranging from $100,000 to $750,000, the first past the post earned his street cred on the country tracks of Bathurst and Wellington and is a homebred by a sire who left just 49 foals in his lone season at stud in Australia.
However the Joe Pride-trained Superium, a son of Verrazano (USA), ran out in the closing stages, colliding with James McDonald on the heavily backed favourite True Detective.
McDonald fired in a protest and stewards reversed the placings, much to the disgust of Glen Boss who said the decision was a joke, earning him a second trip to the steward's room. (image Steve Hart)
A son of the Cox Plate winner Shamus Award, True Detective was successful at his career debut at Rosehill Gardens back in February before suffering narrow defeats on heavy tracks at Rosehill and Randwick at two subsequent starts.
True Detective's stablemate Lucicello (I Am Invincible) was doing her best work at the finish to be two and a quarter lengths back in third.
Trained by Chris Waller, True Detective was a $100,000 Inglis Classic purchase for Byron Rogers' Performance Genetics LLC from the Moobi Farm draft and is raced by a syndicate the includes Rogers and his father Dr Chris Rogers.
A half-brother to stakes-placed Turquoise King, True Detective is the fifth winner from as many live foals out of Girls Rule, a half-sister by Geiger Counter (USA) to stakes-winner Roll on Royce from the family of Group I VRC Victoria Derby winner Fire Oak.
Girls Rule has had a chequered history at stud. After missing to Dawn Approach )IRE) in 2016 she foaled a filly by Sizzling last spring.
True Detective becomes the fourth stakes winner for Shamus Award and was very timely for Rosemont Stud who will stand the son of Snitzel for the first time in 2019 after five seasons at Widden Stud.
The sire of Group 1 Queensland Derby winner Derby winner Mr Quickie will stand at a fee of $11,000.
