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Cousins Simon Zahra and Mat Ellerton had a great start to their training partnership when veteran sprinter Let Go Thommo won the Group Three Bletchingly Stakes.
First cousins Simon Zahra and Mat Ellerton had a great start to their training partnership when veteran sprinter Let Go Thommo broke a lengthy run of outs to score an upset win in the Group Three Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield.
The Laranto nine-year-old had strung together 10 losses since he defeated subsequent Cox Plate winner Maldivian when he won the Group Two Carlyon Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley in January 2008.
Zahra has trained the former West Australian galloper for his past 13 starts for two wins and four stakes or Group placings with Ellerton joining in from Saturday, the first day of the new season.
"It's all halves now. What's mine is his and what's his is mine," said Zahra whose name was the only one in the race book as he said the paperwork had to be put through next week.
A drifter in the betting ring from $17 to $21, Let Go Thommo camped third behind the freegoing I Am Invincible ($2.90 fav) and Bel Mer ($4) and raced past those horses early in the straight to score by three-quarters of a length from the late closer Orange County ($5).
Mr Baritone ($18) also ran on to finish a length away third while I Am Invincible stopped quickly in the straight to finish eighth of the nine runners and Bel Mer weakened to finish fifth.
"He didn't really pull and he had a lovely run tracking Bel Mer, got out at the right time and had a nice sprint on him," Zahra said.
"The race couldn't have worked out any better for him."
Let Go Thommo had not won first-up in six previous tries although he had been placed in three of them, and Zahra said the key to the gelding was that he had had a faultless preparation.
"He's always been a bit big first-up, but we aimed him for the 1200 metres first-up, he got a lovely run, Steven (King) rode him perfectly and he let down like a five-year-old," he said.
"He's just starting to put it all together really. Today he dropped the bit and then he had that sprint which in the past first-up he'd never had. It was a really good effort."
King continued his successful association with Let Go Thommo and has won four races on the gelding including the 2007 Group One The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville, the Carlyon and the 2007 Listed VRC Bob Hoysted Hcp (1000m) at Sandown.
"He jumped well, sat near the speed fresh and the fast tempo helped. I was only worried about the horses behind me as I had the leaders covered," King said.
Darren Gauci had no excuse for the disappointing I Am Invincible who now hasn't won in three outings at 1200m although he did run second to Takeover Target over the trip at Group One level in The Goodwood in May.
"The horse travelled fine, but he punctured in the straight," Gauci said.
