Cranbourne-based trainer Clinton McDonald pulled off a betting plunge as Stanley Express descended late on the line to win the $1 million VOBIS Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield.
A right move was made to stay closer to home than making a trip to Adelaide for the Group 3 Breeders' Stakes at Morphettville.
"We wanted to go to Bendigo (two weeks ago) but we missed that run and we had to come here first-up," McDonald said.
"He is a horse that we had a good line on, and he has shown us a lot at home."
Well-backed from double figure quotes into $7, Stanley Express was a $110,000 purchase at the 2022 Magic Millions Weanling Sale and stamped a smart prizemoney one-hit boost for his sire Starspangledbanner.
This win also completed a rich juvenile feature double at Caulfield for the McDonald stable after Hayasugi took out the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) in February.
"He's an exciting horse," McDonald added.
Ridden by Luke Nolen, Stanley Express scored by a half-length margin over the Mathew Ellerton-trained Symphony Of Colour ($26) and Stormbourg ($51) 1¼-lengths away in third.
It also added to a winning pair for McDonald after Angel Capital won at Cranbourne on Friday night, with stable intentions to point the colt towards the Queensland Racing Carnival two-year-old feature Group 1 JJ Atkins Stakes (1600m) at Eagle Farm.
Showdown pre-race favourite Bold Bastille was a late scratching after breaking through her barrier stall after loading.
Vets withdrew the Hayes-trained filly finding upper teeth had been dislodged in the incident.
