Dominant VRC St Leger win for Silvasista prompts Derby plans
Plans for a tilt at the South Australian Derby are under consideration for Silvasista after her standout victory in the Listed VRC St Leger at Flemington.
Morphettville hosts the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) next Saturday, or there's the Group 3 SA Fillies Classic (2500m) option the week after on the same circuit.
Building on her 2200m success at Donald on April 14, Silvasista coped admirably with the step up to 2800m during Saturday's event.
With Luke Currie in the saddle, Silvasista ($3.70) prevailed by 3-½ lengths ahead of Finance Merchant ($16), and Chillies ($18) trailed by an additional three-quarters-of-a-length for third place.
This victory sealed a double for trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy, the Melbourne Cup winners, succeeding Mr Blunt's earlier success in the WGCDR Ian Bayles DFC (1800m).
"She's a lovely filly but we weren't sure whether she would stay on her pedigree being by Toronado," Calvin McEvoy said.
"She put up a great run behind Salty Pearl over a mile and then went to Adelaide and disappointed us.
"We brought her back and brought her back in class and she won over 2200 metres at Donald and sort of looked near the end of it, but we wanted to test her here over the distance with a look to the 2500-metre fillies race in a couple of weeks.
"The way she won, it was a beautiful ride from Luke, and it could not have worked out any better.
"I'm thrilled for the team at Ballarat. They've sent two horses to the races today and they've both won at Flemington."
Silvasista was second to Salty Pearl at Caulfield previously, then underperformed in an Adelaide stakes race late last month.
At 2200m in Donald, McEvoy admitted the filly's staying potential was still in doubt despite the win.
McEvoy explained that Currie had been tasked specifically with settling Silvasista early on.
"The only thing we said to Luke was she was on trial at the distance, so get her to switch off as good as you can and be the last to challenge," McEvoy said.
"He wasn't the last to challenge as she was travelling so well and he couldn't have executed it any better.
"She's really continued to go through the grades and today was a big test.
"It's a big race to win at Flemington and we're very proud to win it."
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