Former Cambridge Stud stallion Tavistock played a starring role at Moonee Valley on Saturday with a quinella in the Ladbrokes Racing Club Challenger Handicap (2040m), headed by emerging four-year-old Superstock.
Unplaced in the Gr.3 Chairman’s Stakes (2000m) during an aborted Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m) campaign in the autumn, Superstock has returned bigger, stronger and better in his latest preparation. He has now recorded a win, two seconds, a third and a fourth from six appearances since June, and Saturday’s performance hinted at even more to come.
Ridden by Craig Williams for trainers Mark and a Kavanagh, Superstock settled in fourth along the rail, then began to slide closer as fellow Tavistock gelding Havisham pinched a break on the field with 400m remaining.
Havisham rounded the home turn with a clear lead, but Superstock lengthened stride and clawed his way past to beat him by half a length.
Superstock has now had 11 starts for two wins, four placings and A$112,800 in prize-money.
“He’s been relatively consistent,” Levi Kavanagh said. “We had the Derby in Adelaide in mind for him earlier in the year, and he’d done really well on the way up, but we just weren’t sure about that distance.
“He went to Adelaide, but he went forward and just burned himself out in the running in his Derby lead-up. We decided to give him a break, then brought him back and focussed on slightly shorter trips. He ran a super race for second over 1400m at Caulfield (June 24), he flew home that day, and he’s gone on well since then.
“He’s found a bit of bad luck in a couple of his races since then, but he sat closer today and didn’t have as much work to do. It was a great ride from Craig Williams and it suited him down to the ground. He extended and was able to get there when it counted.
“I think he’s got scope to keep improving. He’s still quite lowly rated, so there are some opportunities for him to kick on.”
One of 518 winners from 736 runners for the late, great Tavistock, Superstock was bred by Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay. He is the first named foal out of the Savabeel mare Sistabeel, who herself was a four-time winner on the racetrack.