Torio’s Quest produced a dominant performance in the Group Two Queensland Guineas, to win easily ahead of Benny’s Buttons and Spot The Rock.
The race was all but over at the furlong pole as Torio’s Quest shot away from the field and never looked like being seriously challenged.
The win caps off a turbulent period for the Brett Partelle trained gelding who had been luckless in his previous couple of runs.
He never got clear when fourth behind Jerezana at Scone and then failed to handle the track in his last run at Randwick, but it all clicked for him in the Guineas.
Trainer Brett Partelle said he was looking forward to taking the horse to Melbourne during the spring as he believes the three year old will be very effective over 2000m.
Torio’s Quest copped a bad check in the back straight, however Hugh Bowman was able to balance the gelding up and be in a good position to run away with the race in the home straight.
The win was extra sweet for Bowman who was having his last ride in Australia before embarking on a six week riding tour of the UK.
Celtic Dancer, Havatryst and Run For Levi went hell for leather in the early stages of the race and faded quickly. The fast pace set up the race perfectly for Torio’s Quest.
Benny’s Buttons, who jumped as favourite, looked as if he was in a winning position in the home straight but he just couldn’t match the brilliance of the winner, while the lightly raced Spot the Rock put in an impressive run to finish third.
Torio’s Quest, who was rated an $11.00 chance in the Guineas, takes his career record five wins from ten starts.
