By MICHAEL GUERIN
Yesterday was the first time Queensland's best horsemen got a look at Facta Non Verba and they did not like what they saw.
The Waikato pacer thrashed his opponents in his Australian debut, bolting away with a heat of the Four And Five-Year-Old Championship at Albion Park.
And the performance did little to boost the locals' confidence of beating the gelding any time soon.
Driver Todd Mitchell was forced to drag Facta Non Verba back to last from the outside of the front line in the 2138m mobile and he was three wide behind a battling rival with a lap to run.
But in a masterly drive, Mitchell plotted his way through the field before switching wide at the 400m and once in the home straight Facta Non Verba raced to a four length victory over former Pukekohe pacer Bradnich Sam, justifying his $1.50 favouritism.
That left rival trainers wondering how they can beat the Mike Berger-Warren Rich trained pacer in the final of this series or the other Queensland features he has been set for in the next month, the Sunshine Sprint and Winter Cup.
Yesterday's effortless win was Facta Non Verba's first start in over a month and only his second outing since winning the $100,000 Easter Cup in April.
It also graduated him to open class, earning him a start in November's New Zealand Cup.
That was especially pleasing for Mitchell, who won the Cup last year behind Homin Hosed, who won't be back to defend his title this year because of an injury-forced spell.
Racing: Facta Non Verba too good
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