CLEVER WIN BY BEL'S DUDE

Breednet’s Tara Madgwick reviews Clevadude’s return at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

The bubble burst for Kiwi raider Cauthen when he was beaten at Moonee Valley on Saturday by Clevadude, but the favourite had excuses and both three year-olds will be well worth following through the spring.

Heavily backed on the strength of his nine length debut win in New Zealand last month, Cauthen found the 1000 metres of this assignment a tad sharp and never looked comfortable in the run before making ground late.

While Cauthen was held up back on the rail, Clevadude found the front and never looked back kicking clear off the bend and then holding the son of Darci Brahma to win by the best part of a length.

“He’s had a few issues and had some boils on his withers which meant we couldn’t work him for a few days, so I thought he might have been up against it today, but he’s won like a really good horse,” said winning trainer Rick Hore-Lacy. “We’ll go for the Vain Stakes over 1100 metres in a fortnight and then play it by ear.

“He looks like a dead set sprinter to me, but you never know, we’ll look at the Caulfield Guineas.”

Clevadude was the top priced offering during the Session Five part of the 2012 Magic Millions Yearling Sale, secured by his trainer for $225,000 from the draft of Eliza Park, who stand his sire Bel Esprit.

Now a gelding, he has the handy record of three wins from four starts with prizemoney topping $140,000.

He is the third foal and first winner for Jezeera, a minor winning sister to stakes-winning sprinter Belle Ball.

Jezeera died earlier this year and her final foal, a full sister to Clevadude, fetched $40,000 at the 2013 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

Clevadude has a bit in common with Bel Esprit’s champion daughter Black Caviar.

Like her, he was the most expensive yearling by his sire sold at that sale and also like her he has a double cross of brilliant sprinter and champion sire Vain.

Whether he can scale the heights and become a Group I winner like Black Caviar remains to be seen!

Clevadude’s sire Bel Esprit was the leading sire of Australian winners last season and stands at a fee of $33,000.