Tale of Perth finished 2023 on a high for the Malady stable with a barnstorming win at Warrnambool on New Year’s Eve.
Jockey Beau Mertens admitted the gelding’s acceleration surprised him as the son of Supido circled the field from last and charged to victory in the Michael Lucas Accounting Maiden Plate (1100m).
“He caught me off guard a bit,” Beau confessed. “He actually sprinted up quite fast.
“Around the bend he came off the bridle for a couple of strides but when got through that he really picked up and hit the line strongly.”
After a significant betting drift to $15, Tale of Perth gave the leaders eight lengths mid-race but quickly had the leaders covered, getting home by a half-length from Jenni The Jet ($4.60) with Thailess ($6.00) another 2-3/4 lengths way third.
Trainer Vincent Malady said Tale of Perth was a lightly raced four-year-old who had shown promise in his first campaign for the stable, twice finishing second on the Ballarat synthetic in June.
He was beaten in a photo finish first-up last campaign but was pretty impressive the way he won today,” Vincent said.
“We just let him find his feet and he did the rest with Beau’s well-judged ride.
“He placed in his three jumpouts leading into the race so he was pretty forward to run a big race and fortunately he delivered for us.”