Ollivander impresses on debut at Caulfield

Chris Symons rode Ollivander to victory at Caulfield in the colt’s first trip to the races.

Co-trainer Mathew Ellerton predicts a bright future for Ollivander after the colt scored a strong debut win at Caulfield.

Stepping out in Saturday’s Evergreen Turf Plate (1100m), Ollivander overcame a slow start before producing a strong finish in the straight.

Under Chris Symons, Ollivander ($9) scored by a length from Anthemoessa ($16) with Fake ($7) a short half-head away third.

“He had trialled well at home and his work on Tuesday was very good and we came here confident of a good showing,” Ellerton said.

“He was a bit slow away, found a bit of traffic but navigated it well and it was a good win in the end.”

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Ellerton, who trains in partnership with cousin Simon Zahra, said Ollivander hadn’t been pushed in the lead-up to his debut.

He said the colt had undergone a number of preparations, being in and out of the stable environment, before making his debut.

“He’s a leggy, fine sort of horse that has the future in front of him,” Ellerton said.

“He’s got here of his own accord and we haven’t overtaxed him at home.”

Ollivander, a $70,000 yearling purchase at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney, is among nominations for the February’s Blue Diamond Stakes.

Ellerton said the colt may return to Caulfield for the male division of the Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) on January 27.