Jockey Jamie Mott was determined not to miss the chance to partner the debut winner American Eagle at Sandown.
Mott had competed at Caulfield the previous Saturday before heading to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast with his family to relax.
However, he was back in the saddle on Wednesday at Sandown, guiding the Clayton Douglas-trained American Eagle to a win in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Handicap over 1200 metres.
Despite not favouring the heavy track conditions, American Eagle ($3.40) secured a three-quarter length victory ahead of the $2.80 favourite Judas Tree, with Commit ($5) a further long neck back in third.
American Eagle has been under Douglas’s charge for only the past two weeks, following the 28-day disqualification imposed on Anthony and Sam Freedman.
Having trialled in Sydney, American Eagle was then sent south, where he won a Mornington jump-out over 800 metres on July 8.
“I was really looking forward to riding this guy,” Mott stated.
“He came down here with some nice raps on him and he gave me a really good feel on what was a really testing track at the Mornington jump-outs.
“Today the track conditions were a little bit better than what they were there and I was confident, even though he’s a horse that will be better on top of the ground, but I was confident he would get through it today.
“I think he’s got a lot of class and a bright future.”
Although Douglas is still acquainting himself with American Eagle, he is impressed by what he has observed from the colt during his brief time under his care.
“He’s got a great temperament and that’s going to take him a long way,” Douglas commented.
“He’s a big strong horse that is going to keep on developing and I think there will be some nice races for him in the future.
“We think that he will get out over further so we wanted to make sure that he raced in a good manner today and we felt the Sandown track would suit him, a big spacious track, where we could let him balance up.
“He hit the line nicely and I think he will improve off the run as I think he’s a bit away fitness wise.”
With the Freedman father-and-son training partnership set to return in just two weeks, Douglas humorously suggested he might need to race the colt four or five times to accumulate some wins.
“I think the best thing with this horse is that I might ease off him a touch to get him ready for some better races in the spring,” he concluded.
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