HANDSOME Excites gelding Greenedge has his sights set on better races after his first class debut win at Ballarat on Sunday for Hawkes Racing.
The three-year-old proved too good for his rivals crossing the line a half-lenth ahead of Madica’s Pleasure with Academy Jack back in third.
A first crop son of Vinery’s former Group 1 winning 2YO, the youngster was sold to Team Hawkes for $60,000 at the 2010 Inglis Classic Yearling sale from the Dengari Lodge draft.
”He was a pretty good sort,” Wayne Hawkes told The Sportsman, ”he was my favourite pick at the Classic sale and I would have paid for him if I had to.
”He’s probably not quite as good looking as Excites, but I remember very clearly as a yearling and he was a pretty special looking horse, but Greenedge is in the same mould – he’s a big, strong horse with a good rein.
”He was a pretty nice horse and that’s why we paid what we paid for him.”
His dam, South Terrace, is a sister to the stakeswinner mare, Red Labelle, who is proving to be a tremendous producer having foaled two stakeswinners of her own so far namely Strawberry Field and Pellizotti.
Greenedge is raced by Gerry Ryan (Limerick Lane) who part owns last year’s Melbourne Cup winner, Americain.
”Greenedge was an outstanding really at the Classic and was highly sought after,” Vinery’s Conor Phelan recalled,”it’s no small feat for a horse to win on debut and the way that Greenedge did would suggest that he is city class.
”He is in the right stable to reach to his full potential.”
