Arron Purcell, a quietly spoken young man from Warrnambool, cracked it for a grin after the win of St Jean at Sportingbet Park.

Whilst it was hardly a flash field he despensed with his opposition quite easily, running away for a comfortable win.

At least St Jean has proved he can stay to this stage; he would need to improve his current rating, 80, to qualify for the major cups, however, he will be nominated for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

He will go to the paddock now for a break, it won’t be a long one as it can get cold down where he is trained and the Spring is not that far off.

St Jean was Irish bred, purchase in U K with the rate of exchange for about $140,000, by Teofilo, a colt with a high cruising speed by Galileo, he won at his only five starts, he was recognised as the champion two year old in Europe.

St Jean, an entire, would have been purchased on pedigree and potential, his dam, Oriental Fashion, was quite a handy mare, she won three races to a shade over a mile including the Group 3 Roma Premio Ribot, she was also Listed placed at Chantilly,Deauville and Maisons Laffitte.

St Jean - A Spring hopeful

Spring Plans For Escamillo

Mick Kent has Spring plans for Escamillo after his win in the Samson Handicap, there is a bit of depth to him, he did a good job in winning up the long straight at Sandown.

The colt will be set for the Norman Robinson Handicap at Caulfield that will determine whether he is up to taking the next step.

Kent was quite bullish when summing up about the win “he fought off all the challenges in the straight and was still strong on the line, the colt has improved a lot from the Flemington run,” he said.

The Samson Handicap, named after a horse that was a frequent winner back in the sixties, was by Nilo, a great sire in that era, he was a three quarter brother to Nasrullah and Royal Charger.

Escamillo with Jackie Beriman up

Griante Strikes Purple Patch

Griante extended her winning sequence to three wins, on the trot, when she led from barrier to box in winning the Le Pine Funerals Plate at Sportingbet Park.

The issue was really never in doubt at any stage of the race; she handled with a minimum of fuss.

Her co trainer, David Brideoake , declared her a good racehorse that makes her own luck and a genuine filly

He has his reservations about a four year old mare going into open age during the Spring, but there will be no options if he is looking for Black Type.

Griante three wins on the trot