Weight of expectation rested easily today on the young shoulders of Cadazio at Geelong where his much-anticipated debut went strictly according to plan for the exciting son of Tarzino.
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained youngster wasn’t extended to win at the first time of asking over 1400 metres and a quality performance from the two-year-old, who accounted for older opposition in the hands of Jye McNeil.
Cadazio had been a 1000 metre winner at a Cranbourne jump-out before returning there for a runaway success in an official trial over 990 metres earlier this month and off the back of those efforts was sent out a less than even money favourite.
His army of supporters enjoyed an easy watch today as Cadazio improved wide to sit on the leader’s tail and, after taking control 250 metres from home, he waltzed away to score by 2.5l.
“It was a great effort and what impressed my was that in the parade he was a bit fresh and went to the gates keenly, but once he jumped and went forward he came back and settled,” McNeil said.
“That was great because he is going to go over more ground.
“He has good natural gate speed, which made my life easy, and he is still a bit green and changed legs so he is going to improve a lot.”
Price and Kent believe Cadazio to be a Classic prospect, much in the mould of another son of Tarzino in Jungle Magnate. They prepared him to win the G1 South Australian Derby before his sale to Hong Kong interests.
Bred by Gerry Harvey, Cadazio was initially passed in at Karaka as a yearling before he was secured out of Westbury’s Ready to Run Sale draft for $120,000 by Price and bloodstock agent Phill Cataldo, acting on behalf of OTI Racing.
He is a son of the Conatus mare Light Up A Screen, who is out of a sister to the G1 One Thousand Guineas winner Inaflury, and she has a Telperion yearling colt and returned in 2021 to Tarzino.