Stryker 3YO Wins $250,000 Inglis Dash

It was a big payday for the Darren Weir-trained Stryker gelding Perpetual Crisis at Flemington on Saturday when he powered home to win the $250,000 Inglis Dash over 1100 metres.

 

Ridden by Damian Lane, Perpetual Crisis made his run back inside the leaders down the straight to defeat the most expensive runner in the race for Inglis graduates, the $300,000 I Am Invincible gelding Ebenos by a half a neck.

"He gave me a great finish," Lane said. " Weiry said, 'you'd better switch him off early or he'll get running', and the way he went down to the barriers I thought, 'I might be in a bit of bother here'.

"To his credit, once I got a bit of cover, he switched off and I held off as long as I could and I really didn't want to go back to the inside.

"They just generally don't finish off that well doing that in straight races but I pulled him over and he finished the strongest obviously.

"Hopefully with that win under his belt, he can go on to better things."

Weir said the result was unexpected.

"We thought he ran well first up without a lot of luck and I said to the owners, 'this race is worth good prizemoney', but I didn't think this would happen," Weir said.

"It's a nice result for all involved and obviously the horse is going better than I thought he was."

Weir gave all the credit to stable manager Jeremy Rogers for picking out Perpetual Crisis at the 2015 Inglis VOBIS Gold yearling sale.

A $20,000 purchase by his trainer from the Oakford Thoroughbred Farm draft, Perpetual Crisis advances his record to three wins and two thirds from nine starts with earnings of $228,200.

He is the first foal of the unraced One Cool Cat (USA) mare Leica Gossip whose dam Leica Virgin is a three-quarter sister to Group II MRC Sandown Guineas winner Moon Dragon and Listed winner Dansino, out of the Group I Australasian Oaks winner Leica Smile.

Three Bridges Thoroughbreds foundation sire Stryker has three lots on offer at the Inglis Premier Yearling sale.