Sandown debut winner sees jockey Mott return early from break

Jockey Jamie Mott chose to cut short his family break to partner the promising debut winner American Eagle at Sandown.

Following a ride at Caulfield the previous Saturday, Mott had travelled to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast with his family for a period of recovery.

However, his return to racing action occurred on Wednesday at Sandown, where he guided the Clayton Douglas-trained American Eagle to victory in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Handicap (1200m).

American Eagle ($3.40), despite not relishing the heavy track conditions, managed to win by three-quarters of a length from the heavily backed $2.80 favourite Judas Tree. Commit ($5) finished a further long neck behind in third place.

The colt American Eagle has only been under the care of Clayton Douglas for the past fortnight, a period following the 28-day disqualification handed down to Anthony and Sam Freedman.

After undertaking trials in Sydney, American Eagle was transferred south, where he successfully completed an 800-metre jump-out at Mornington on July 8.

"I was really looking forward to riding this guy," Mott shared.

"He came down here with some nice raps on him and he gave me a really good feel on what was a really testing track at the Mornington jump-outs.

"Today the track conditions were a little bit better than what they were there and I was confident, even though he's a horse that will be better on top of the ground, but I was confident he would get through it today.

"I think he's got a lot of class and a bright future."

Clayton Douglas, despite still familiarising himself with American Eagle, has been impressed by the colt's early performances under his tutelage.

"He's got a great temperament and that's going to take him a long way," Douglas remarked.

"He's a big strong horse that is going to keep on developing and I think there will be some nice races for him in the future.

"We think that he will get out over further so we wanted to make sure that he raced in a good manner today and we felt the Sandown track would suit him, a big spacious track, where we could let him balance up.

"He hit the line nicely and I think he will improve off the run as I think he's a bit away fitness wise."

With the Freedman father and son duo nearing the end of their two-week disqualification, Douglas light-heartedly suggested he might need to run the colt several times to boost his winning tally.

"I think the best thing with this horse is that I might ease off him a touch to get him ready for some better races in the spring," he added.

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