Improving three-year-old Taken ran out a dominant winner of the Darren Galley Mile (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday under a well-judged front-running ride by Beau Mertens.
The son of Ardrossan has now won three races in succession this campaign for trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
With key race rivals Detroit City and King Of Enterprise racing near the rear of the field throughout, Taken looked the winner a long way from home and found plenty when asked, going on to score by three lengths from Cachink and Mometz.
“It was a twelve out of ten ride, he really got the fractions right and allowed the horse to come up underneath him and he really released over the last 600m,” Kent Jnr said.
“I thought it was a slightly stronger race than what he faced two weeks prior when he won, and he has won by a bigger margin today.
“He has just kept improving, which is typical of the breed and the type of horse he is, being a big-framed horse.
“I’m rapt for all the owners, including Carl Holt whose colours this horse wears. He is in Las Vegas so I have just text him to hit the tables a bit harder.
“If he keeps improving every start, you don’t know where they might end up. We are pretty keen to try him at 2000m when it’s the right time.
“That may be back here in two weeks’ time. We will just have a talk to everyone, but he is fine at a mile, and he is very consistent, he’s yet to miss a place in all of his career starts.”
Mertens said Kent Jnr gave him flexible instructions and the smooth-actioned galloper did the rest.
“Michael gave me a pretty easy game plan of just rolling forward, he didn’t care whether he was leading, second or just behind the speed.
“He just left it up to me and I was able to flow into a prominent position quite easily and once he found the front he just switched off and went at lovely gallop for me. At the top of the straight when I asked him, he really sprinted well.
“He’s a horse that has come on leaps and bounds through his prep. From the start till now he has just improved a stack and the team at home have got him going terrifically and he’s in a really good headspace. He’s doing everything right, so off the back of that I believe he can get better.”
Originally prepared in New Zealand by Sam Mynott, Taken was sold to the Price-Kent stable following a trial win at Tauranga.
By Waikato Stud’s emerging young sire Ardrossan, Taken is out of the Henrythenavigator mare Katherine Wright and stems from the same family as Ardrossan’s Group Three winner Beau Dazzler.
Taken was bred by the Dewar Partnership, which was put together to support Ardrossan when he launched at stud by some people who raced the Group One performed son of Redoute’s Choice. The Dewar Partnership is managed and part-owned by Bruce Perry with Lib Petagna the majority supporter along with Max Brown, Tony Joyce and Dave and Nicki Wilson.