Improving staying prospect Genuine Lad proved just that, when digging in deep to salute in the Group 3 Launceston Cup.
Having only been narrowly beaten in the Group 3 Hobart Cup last start, the son of Ladoni was successful in turning the tables, when defeating the Scott Brunton trained Banca Mo, with crowd favourite, Geegees Blackflash finishing third.
Continuing his meteoric rise this preparation, Genuine Lad took full advantage of an aggressive ride, after being urged a long by Craig Williams rounding the turn for home.
Hitting the front at the top of the straight, Genuine Lad was forced to dig deep, when holding off both Banca Mo and Geegees Blackflash, to score by three-quarters of a length.
Genunine Lad’s victory brought up jockey Craig William’s second straight success in the feature event, having won last year’s renewal with the Mick Kent trained Epingle.
Setting a new track record, trainer Bill Ryan was simply thrilled with the performance and will now target the Group 2 Adelaide Cup [3200m], with the four-year-old.
The Tony McEvoy trained Pelicano rounded out the top four in a much-improved performance, having been very disappointing in the Hobart Cup last start.
