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Moody-trained gelding becomes fourth Group One winner for Rosemont Stud’s Shamus Award
Incentivise (5 g ex Miss Argyle by Iglesia) stretched his winning sequence to seven with a victory in Saturday’s Makybe Diva Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington and provided his Rosemont Stud-based sire Shamus Award (Snitzel) with his fourth Group One winner at his first start for new trainer Peter Moody.
Ridden by Brett Prebble for the first time, the previously Steve Tregea-trained Incentivise ($3.90) took up the lead and held off a late bid by Mo'unga (Savabeel) to score by a neck with Sir Dragonet (Camelot) a short-half-head away third.
Moody said there was improvement to come from Incentivise who will head to the Turnbull Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Flemington on October 2 ahead of the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) two weeks later.
"It probably wasn't the way we intended to go about it, but I just left that totally up to Brett," Moody said.
"As we've seen, the further he gets into a race, he builds nicely and even though they got to him, you knew he was going to keep going.
"It was very encouraging at this stage of the spring. We've only got one more run between now and the Cup which will probably be the Turnbull.
"He is a very good horse. I am yet to see him have a blow, so he's obviously got a great set of lungs on him, so upwards and onwards.
"When he gets to a mile-and-a-quarter and he is allowed to build and roll and has a bunny instead of being the bunny, I think you are going to see a pretty exciting stayer."
Moody said his greatest concern was having Incentivise in the same condition by the time the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) come around.
But the trainer said he takes a lot of heart from Tregea's comments about the gelding.
"Steve said the further he gets into a campaign, the better he does and the more he thrives," Moody said.
"He's thrived to this point, so if he continues to go onwards and upwards, look out."
Prebble landed his second Group One win of the new season having guided Behemoth (All Too Hard) to victory in the Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield on August 28.
The in-form jockey said he was as kind as he could be aboard Incentivise knowing there was still a long way to go into the spring.
"He floats along, and you can feel he's not aggressive," Prebble said.
"They came at him, I let them get up and about him and when I asked him for an effort, he dug deep.
"If I had asked him from the top of the straight, I reckon he would have opened up and given them something to chase, but I wanted to give him an easy time.
"First-up at the mile and we got away with it."
Incentivise is the first Group One winner out of Listed placed mare Miss Argyle (Iglesia) who has produced eight winners from as many foals to race including Group Three winner Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice) and Listed scorers Bergerac (Durmbeats) and Cheyenne Warrior (Not A Single Doubt).