Ambassadorial has impressed greatly since transferring to the Melbourne Cup-winning team of Tony and Calvin McEvoy, extending his progress by taking out the Easter Cup (2000m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Securing his third straight victory, the Fiorente gelding notched his most significant triumph yet, prevailing as the $4 favourite ridden by apprentice Logan Bates.
Ambassadorial held off Sea What I See ($6) by 1½ lengths, while Immediacy ($17) finished a short half-head further back in third.
“A big thank-you to Anne Peacock and Jane Chapple-Hyam for sending us the horse and giving him the opportunity with us,” Tony McEvoy said.
“He’s been such a pleasure (to train). There will be no problem rehoming him as everyone in the stable just adores him.
“He’s such a gentleman and what a magnificent racing pattern he has.
“He’s gone from strength to strength.”
McEvoy joked that part of the gelding’s improvement had come from a change in approach.
“We’ve decided not to train him,” he said.
“We’re still charging training fees – I hope Jane didn’t hear that, but we’re keeping him really fresh.
“He’s a very light-fleshed, athletic horse and doesn’t require a lot and if you look at his CV, he has been with trainers that do train them, so we decided to make a change.”
Before joining the McEvoy outfit, the gelding was handled by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, followed by Alex Rae, and he has since posted three victories and two minor placings in five outings for his current trainers.
The connections plan to assess his stamina further, eyeing the Mornington Cup (2400m) on April 18 as a likely next assignment.
“He’s a gelding, he’s perfectly sound and he’s in rare form,” McEvoy said.
“What we need to know is whether he runs a mile-and-a-half. If he does that, it opens a brand-new chapter for him.”
The McEvoy camp rounded out a fine afternoon with a double when Rue De Royale captured the Geoff Murphy Handicap (1200m).
A potential entry in the Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville next month might now be considered for that horse.
Follow Ambassadorial’s ascent in longer-distance events and explore racing betting markets for the Easter Cup at top online bookmakers.