Unbeaten Pup To Make A Stance In Devonport Chase

TED Medhurst is confident unbeaten youngster Sacred Stance can raise the bar yet again in the opening heat of the Devonport Chase on Tuesday.

HALL of Fame trainer Ted Medhurst is confident unbeaten youngster Sacred Stance can raise the bar yet again in the opening heat of the Group 3 Ladbrokes Devonport Chase (452m) on Tuesday.

Unbeaten in five career starts, the distinctly marked son of Beast Unleashed has drawn box five in the opening heat of the $25,000-to-the-winner series, his first appearance out of restricted grade company.

There waiting for him is recent Tasmanian acquisition Blackpool Flash, the 28-time winner drawn the rails in what promises to be an absorbing clash.

"He's drawn terribly and we've probably run into the number two seed in the series but I give him a good chance if he begins," Medhurst said.

"His effort to run 25.37 last week (at Devonport) was really good and what I liked the most about it was how he savaged the line.

FIELDS AND FORM DEVNPORT TUESDAY

"Each time he steps out he's showing a bit more and hopefully that continues Tuesday.

"If he and the red are slugging it out from off the top turn it will be a really interesting race."

The story behind Sacred Stance isn't your conventional one for a pup that is demonstrating unbridled ability.

The strikingly marked fawn and white chaser gathering just as much attention off the track as he is on.

"Everyone that sees him loves him – he's a pretty looking fella," Medhurst said.

"When they look as good as he does you wonder whether they are going to be any good but he's looking like one of the exceptions.

"His owner Cameron Betts, who I've had a couple of dogs for in the past, asked me to break him in with two others when they were about 13 months.

"I thought about it for a bit and eventually agreed but early on this pup wasn't showing anything special, he was very shy and reserved.

"I'd given him five slips behind the lure at Hobart and at his sixth go he jumped out of the ground and found three or four tenths.

"I gave him a month off after that and he hasn't looked back from there. It's funny, you never know where your next good one might come from."

Medhurst has six Devonport Chase hopefuls sprawled across Tuesday's seven heats, the series headlined by the appearance of Victorian superstar Ferdinand Boy in qualifier two.

As well as Sacred Stance, Medhurst – who is a five-time Devonport Cup winner – is represented by Mr. Camacho (heat 2 – box 5), Not So Cashless (heat 3 – box 2), Eagles Nest Egg (heat 4 – box 7), Earning The Cash (heat 6 – box 6) and Miss Avatar (heat 7 – box 6).

"We've been dealt no favours with the box draws but you get used to that," Medhurst said.

"Not So Cashless has drawn one of the quieter heats and is the one that drew well so she's probably the best of them.

"Eagles Nest Egg is having his first start for us and I'm happy with how he's going without setting the world on fire. I'm still working him out, he'll be a lot better for Tuesday's run.

"But the young dog (Sacred Stance) is definitely our flag bearer for the series."

Going into the series off whirlwind Hobart and Devonport wins, Medhurst plans to test Sacred Stance around two turns in the not too distant future while a tilt at next month's Group 1 Hobart Thousand is also on the cards.

"We'll start to get an idea as to what we've got after that," Medhurst said.

"He's not two until February so he's still very young and inexperienced but he's definitely heading in the right direction.

"Some of the times he's producing in trials and in races aren't easy to do. He's definitely exciting and there's still more there I think.”

 

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