Calbanesco shows promise at second start

Albany trainer Kevin Allen is bullish about the prospects of promising three-year-old Calbanesco after his smart maiden victory at Percy Spencer Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.

Allen and his partner, Leanne Howlett, have bred Calbanesco from their talented mare Winehorse, who won seven career races and more than $100,000 in prizemoney.

In only his second career start, Calbanesco settled second behind leader Crafty Maddie in running before jockey Lucy Warwick peeled him out in the home straight and produced a terrific turn of foot to score a comfortable two-length win.

The gelding, by Planet Five from Winehorse, started a red-hot $1.60 favourite in the GWN7 Maiden (1100m) after an eye-catching second to Cold As Cold on debut on Boxing Day.

Allen said it had been a lot of work getting Calbanesco to this stage but was excited about the youngster’s racing future.

“Leanne and myself bred him out of our good mare Winehorse,” Allen said.

“It has been three years in progress getting him here.

“He jumps well, so he gets into a good position and when he learns, he’s going to be a nice horse.”

Allen said they would take it slowly with him as a three-year-old and look to maximise his Westspeed earnings.

“I don’t think he deserved to be that short a favourite — he won his trial over 600m and then that first-up run put him on the map,” he said. “We will take it one step at a time at this stage but in his work he showed us a lot.

“He is Westspeed, so we’ve got to look for those races.”

Meanwhile, fellow local trainer Roy Rogers scored his first winner of the Great Southern season after Notta Mocha broke his maiden status in the TABtouch Maiden (1050m).

The Danehill Express three-year-old settled back for apprentice Kate Fitzgerald and ran home strongly to down Just Jude by ¾ of a length.