Sound Proposition Up Late for Easter Win
Description:
Sound Proposition came in off the also-eligible list and scored his first group I win in thrilling fashion in the Manco Easter Stakes April 23 at Ellerslie.
Settled back early, Sound Proposition stormed wide down the lane under Michael Coleman and collared front-runner Trojan Warrior in the final stride to get the victory.
Rasa Lila charged home late for third, a short neck behind the runner-up, while Sakhee's Soldier was right in line in fourth position, just less than a length clear of Mabeel.
Sound Proposition become the 49th stakes winner and 11th group I winner for New Zealand leading sire Savabeel, a son of Zabeel who stands at Waikato Stud.
Sound Proposition, who made the field on the scratch of Celebrity Miss, covered 1,600 meters (about one mile) in 1:33.39 on turf rated as good, getting his fourth win from 11 starts.
The colt, out of Ebony Babe, by Ebony Grovse, is trained by Lance O'Sullivan, who 31 years ago rode Eastern Joy, also a late call-up, to victory for his father, Dave O'Sullivan.
Sound Proposition lost a group I placing—his third in last year's New Zealand Derby behind Mongolian Khan and Volkstok'n'barrell—when he was disqualified for an elevated level of cobalt.
O'Sullivan and training partner Andrew Scott were subsequently charged with presenting three horses to race with a prohibited substance, but racing regulators found they did not purposely administer the substance.
"It's a very satisfying win," O'Sullivan said after Saturday's race. "It has been a tough 12 months, but we've all come through it and out the other side, and as far as Wexford Stables goes, it's onwards and upwards."
Sound Proposition has started just five times since his Derby performance and he showed he was back on the right track when winning at Ellerslie earlier this month.
"He came into the race through the back way; he wasn't in any of the big races coming in," said O'Sullivan. "He had to earn his spot in the race."
Sound Proposition's win marks the fifth Easter triumph for Wexford Stables following on from Shivaree (1981), Our Shah (1982), Eastern Joy (1985) and Calveen (2005).