Age no barrier for Eternal Traveller

Craig Brennan
Friday, January 08, 2010

Despite giving age to his opponents and meeting them on equal weight terms, Eternal Traveller looked the goods with a decisive victory in the $65,000 Initiation Stakes over 1200m on the Polytrack on Friday night.

Eternal Traveller is a four-year-old Japanese bred gelding and was six months in age younger than his rivals.

Trainer Stephen Burridge said he had been looking for a suitable race late last year to take advantage of his age with a weight allowance, but was unable to do so.

Eternal Traveller (Vlad Duric) scores first-up for trainer Steven Burridge.

But it mattered little as Vlad Duric guided the gelding to a one-and-three-quarter length victory over Powerful Leader (Leong Yoon Fei) with Mega Award (Danny Beasley) two-and-a-quarter lengths away third.

Eternal Traveller was having his first start since July when a good second behind the smart galloper Lamborghini Flame.

“He’d had three trials and was quite fit going into the race,” said Burridge. “He had some pretty good form around him, but he’d always been green.

“Being six months behind the others makes it pretty hard for him, but he’s just starting to mature now and he has the chance to go on with it.”

Burridge said he had found it difficult to keep the weight on Eternal Traveller during his last preparation and despite the three trials in the lead-up to his breakthrough victory he was up 9kg in body weight.

“I was asked if being up in weight concerned me and it didn’t worry me at all,” said Burridge.

“I think it’s just a sign of his maturity that he’s now starting to keep the weight on. He’d had three trials and was up in body weight, so I think he’ll just keep on improving.

“He just couldn’t keep it on last time so that’s why I sent him for a spell.”

Burridge said he gets a special kick out of preparing winners for the Big Valley Stable.

Duric bought up a winning double having won earlier in the night aboard Not My Fault.

He said Eternal Traveller had been his own worst enemy in his previous campaign by wanting to over-race, but he was a lot more relaxed on Friday night

“The pace on really suited him and he relaxed well,” said Duric. “He showed a good turn of foot and I think 1400m or even 1600m will suit him ideally.”

Eternal Traveller is a four-year-old by Exceed And Excel (also the sire of the previous winner Abeyant) from the Sadler’s Wells mare Three Dimensions and from his five starts that also include three minor placings, he has now amassed around $70,000 in prizemoney.

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