18 Jan 2022Mr Blackwood made his first run over ground a memorable one when he put a wide margin on his rivals at Moe.
The Cambridge Stud-bred and sold son of Tavistock was making just his third career appearance when he stepped up to 2400 metres and rolled home by 4.5l.
Mr Blackwood travelled easily in fourth spot before rider Ethan Brown pulled out three wide before the turn. They hit the front 150 metres off the post and surged clear for an emphatic victory.
“I was happy where I landed and the horse switched off. He conserved energy and went through the line strongly,” he said.
Trained by Cindy Alderson, the four-year-old was off the scene for more than 12 months following a debut fourth and understandably showed sharp improvement on a resuming seventh last month.
“Cindy is very good with stayers and she had this horse in prime order,” Brown said.
Mr Blackwood was initially purchased at Karaka for $15,000 by trainer Peter Lock before relocating to Victoria. He is out of the Zabeel mare Zsa Zsa Gabeel and is a brother to the two-time winner and stakes placegetter Saint Eustace.
They are from the family of Group 1 winners Golden Sword and Royal Descent and the dual Group 2 winner and sire Falkirk.