9 Jul 2023Cheap Wine sparked celebrations when he defied his starting price to make a dream start to his career at Grafton.
Our homebred son of the late Burgundy was sent out on debut at odds of better than $30, but the Ethan Ensby-trained gelding dug deepest for apprentice Cejay Graham for an upset victory over 1410 metres.
He was quickly into stride to sit in third spot before he was allowed to stride to the front 700 metres from home and showed his fighting qualities in the run home to defy his rivals in a tight finish.
Cheap Wine is a three-year-old son of the Zabeel mare Harmony and was originally bought by Kurtis Pertab off the Gavelhouse platform for $1700 and then secured by Ensby for $20,000 when reoffered at New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale.
Harmony is out of a half-sister to the dam of the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Dantelagh, who produced the multiple top-flight winner and former Hong Kong Horse of the Year Vengeance Of Rain.