Former Cumani-trained Speed Gifted wins debut

Report: Australia, Saturday
Flemington

LUCA CUMANI has narrowly missed out on winning the last two Melbourne Cups - and now a horse he used to train has catapulted himself into the reckoning for this year’s race.

Speed Gifted, who finished third to controversial Ormonde Stakes winner Buccellati on his last outing in Britain in October, is now trained by Melbourne-based giant Lee Freedman.

The five-year-old made an Australian debut described as “stunning” by local reporters on Saturday when he won a 1m event at Flemington by two-and-a-half lengths over Count To Zero. Dwayne Dunn rode the 11-1 shot.

In a winter buying campaign in Britain, Freedman spent more than A$1m on a handful of horses, mainly with an eye on the Cups, for the Australian-based Ball and Chain Syndicate, so-called as a nod to the nation’s convict heritage.

However, Speed Gifted was picked up separately for French owner Jean-Marc Charmat, according to stable manager Sam Pritchard-Gordon.

"It is nice to see him win here on this course," Pritchard-Gordon told AAP Racing.

"Obviously we have a game plan in mind now he has proved he can handle Australian racing – it’s very exciting.”

Pritchard-Gordon added: "When a horse comes from the Cumani stable you don't expect to improve them but when hecame off the bit he really did actually quicken which is probably what he's not been allowed to do in the UK where they roll along from a lot further out.

Pritchard-Gordon added that at this stage the Ball and Chain Syndicate horses were not in the same class as Speed Gifted.

"They are an echelon below him but with natural improvement they will be able to start paying their way," he said.

"Four of the six have already run with mixed results but that was what we were expecting.