Holyfield launches Stradbroke bid in Victory Stakes

By Glenn Davis

Trainer Annabel Neasham is again hoping to spoil the party for some of the bigger name Queensland Racing Carnival aspirants when Holyfield makes his comeback in the Group 2 Victory Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Holyfield – a Brodie Loy mount – drew perfectly in barrier one for the 1200 metre Weight-For-Age feature.

Neasham upset her more fancied rivals when she won last week’s Listed Mick Dittman Plate at Doomben with Lady Laguna and rubbed salt into the wounds of her winter opponents when outsider Swiss Exile finished second.

Holyfield hasn’t raced since finishing a close third to the Tony Gollan-trained Vinco in the Magic Millions Cup at the Gold Coast in January.

The five-year-old won last year’s Listed Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich before returning for a Queensland summer carnival campaign.

In his three starts before the Magic Millions Cup, Holyfield ended Gollan’s attempt at five straight wins in the Listed Keith Noud at Doomben in November before finishing second in the Listed Recognition Stakes and third in the Listed Lough Neah Stakes.

Neasham’s Brisbane stable manager Todd Pollard believes the Victory Stakes is a tough race with every runner in with a chance.

“He’s drawn well which is important and hopefully we can get him into the Stradbroke,” Pollard said.

“When he won the Keith Noud he broke the track record and he’s coming along well and being a gelding there’s plenty of racing in him.

“There looks to be a lot of speed in the race so hopefully he’ll jump well and get a nice trail.

“Prince Of Boom won really well last start and King Of Sparta always races well when he comes to Queensland so they are just two of the dangers.”

Neasham has had a lot of success with the progeny of Holyfield’s sire, I Am Invincible, while his mother, Hurtle Myrtle, won the Group 1 Myer Classic at Flemington in 2011 as well as Group 2 wins in the Sapphire at Randwick and Dane Ripper at Eagle Farm.

Holyfield started his career with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace in Sydney before he was sold at an online Inglis sale.

Originally, Neasham thought she had paid overs when she outlayed $180,000 for Holyfield but had him syndicated within minutes of the sale.

“He seems to race best fresh so all going well he’ll probably miss the Doomben 10,000 and will go to the BRC Sprint and then the Stradbroke,” Pollard said.

Loy has a long association with Holyfield who gave him his first provincial win at Newcastle when he first moved to Sydney.

Now based in Brisbane as a stable rider for Neasham, Loy’s win in the Eye Liner was his first stakes victory in Queensland.