By Bren O'Brien
All signs point to a bright future for the Gooree-Stud bred and owned Rule The World (Hallowed Crown), who debuted with an impressive all-the-way win in the ANZ Bloodstock News Plate at Canterbury.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding became the fifth winner but the first at metropolitan level for Darley sire Hallowed Crown, who raced in the same red and black colours.
Tim Clark set Rule The World on the pace and he booted clear to defy his rivals and a betting drift and win by 0.8l from Exceed the Stars (Star Witness) and Frosty Rocks (Your Song).
"He's a really classy individual and very typical of what Gooree breed, they are big, raw ,tough individuals. He has always shown us a lot of class and I think he’ll really go on with it for us," Bott said.
"He has always shown us a lot of class and I think he’ll really go on with it for us." - Co-trainer Adrian Bott
"There is no doubt he is going to be a much better 3-year-old for us, particularly when he gets up in trip. We wondered today if the shorter trip was going to be a bit sharp for him but that’s why we didn’t see him as an earlier 2-year-old."
Rule The World is by Darley stallion, Hallowed Crown (pictured)
"He has taken a bit of time to fill into that lovely big frame of his, but he is doing well now and even though it's a winter meeting, there is plenty of class about this guy and we’ll see much more from him."
His dam Pay Off Now (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) is a half-sister to the multiple stakes winner Gamble Me (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), who has produced a couple of stakes-placed horses herself in Major Conquest (More Than Ready {USA}) and Kinagat (Street Cry {Ire}).
It's a strong American family which harks back to his fourth dam Con Game (USA) (Buckpasser {USA}), the dam of Seeking The Gold (USA) and fellow G1 winner Fast Play (USA) (Seattle Slew {USA}).
Rule The World won two recent trials impressively, with the most recent at Randwick giving Clark the confidence that he would be a huge chance of winning on debut.
"I always thought he would be strong. I loved his last trial. When I put one around his tail before the turn in the trial, he put four on them and didn’t know what to do." Clark said.
"I was pretty confident coming here that he was the best horse in the race, but maybe it wasn't the best conditions, being 1100m but class rose to the top."
Trainers Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse
Clark is confident that Rule The World will enjoy stretching out in distance into his 3-year-old season.
"We think he’ll stretch out to a mile and maybe 2000m. He's got a really good attitude and he is a big strong strapping horse who is only going to get better as the races get longer."
The 2-year-old fillies race, the Australian Turf Club Mdn also resulted in an upset, with Betcha Flying (Uncle Mo {USA}) edging out the impressive debutante Darling Point (Lonhro).
Betcha Flying is bred and raced by the Ingham family and improved significantly on her luckless first run to win narrowly for jockey Kathy O'Hara and trainer Chris Waller.
She is out of We Betcha (Encosta de Lago), the half-sister to stakes-winner Anatola (More than Ready {USA}) and becomes the first winner from the final Australian crop of her sire.
