Heavenly Thought firms for G1 Qld Derby
Heavenly Thought (r) has raced into contention for the Queensland Derby after his Grand Prix win.
Champion trainer Darren Weir produced another masterstroke when Heavenly Thought emerged from midweek obscurity to win Saturday’s Group Three Grand Prix Stakes (2200m).
TAB Fixed Odds reacted to Heavenly Thought’s win, slicing his Queensland Derby quote from $17 to $7.
Heavenly Thought earned a trip north after winning against older rivals at Sandown on May 16 but his trip to Brisbane wasn’t without incident.
“It was hard work getting him here. He was quite a handful on the plane on Thursday and being that close to the race we weren’t able to use any sedation,” Weir’s stable foreman Jarrod McLean said.
“He was loud and noisy and kicked and crashed about a bit but it makes it worthwhile when he runs like that.”
Heavenly Thought is a son of champion dual Cox Plate winner So You Think and will be aiming to increase his stud potential when he lines up in the Group One Queensland Derby (2200m) at Doomben on June 9.
“So You Think’s really stamped him. He’s a cracking individual and being an entire it’s an important couple of weeks coming up for him,” McLean said.
“Weiry’s always had a good opinion of him and you’d like to think there’s more improvement to come in the next couple of weeks.”
Han Xin shortened to $11 for the Derby after his stout effort to finish second while Dark Dream eased from $3.50 to $5 for the blue riband after finishing third.
Heavenly Thought will be aiming to be the first horse since Hawkspur in 2013 to land the Grand Prix-Derby double.
No tags for this post.