TESTA Rossa gelding Fontelina will to return to Flemington in exactly seven days time and attempt to repeat his Gr.2 Salinger Stakes (1200m) win when he tackles the Group 1 VRC Patinack Classic (1200m).
The Anthony Cummings-trained galloper gave his trainer a day to savour beating a top field of sprinters in the time-honoured Salinger less than an hour after the Randwick conditioner claimed the VRC Derby with Fiveandahalfstar.
Fontelina was already one of Testa Rossa’s 42 stakeswinners courtesy of his win in the BRC Phoenix (1350m) at only his second race start as a 2yo.
Fontelina was first up from a 32 week spell but had plenty in reserve to hold off straight-track specialist Spirit Of Boom and register his second Stakes victory.
The colt belied his $13 quote proving the punters wrong but the trainer right in his bold attack on one of the countries feature sprints.
“A lot of the form guides said he wasn’t there but I knew myself where the horse was and the improvement he’d taken last time through that he’d made the step that was required to be competitive today,” Cummings said.
“This was a bit of a long-range plan. We decided probably two or three months ago that we’d aim up here.”
Testa Rossa won the G2 Maribyrnong Plate at the 1998 carnival and bowed out with the last of a half-dozen Group 1 victories in the 2000 Emirates Stakes. He has gone from strength to strength at Vinery and the $182,000 Yellowglen prizemoney helped send his Australian earnings through $35 million.
