Okay, Volpe Veloce, previous winner of eight of 11 starts, didn't earn too many points as a tip, but Spring Heat, coming off a maiden victory at Hastings, looked a bold boast in a Group 3 race after just two raceday appearances. She was facing a field that had collectively won 23 races.
Plenty listened to the Victorian youngster because Spring Heat started much shorter in the market than expected and simply blew the opposition off the track. The sprint the More Than Ready filly displayed from the 250m was truly electric.
And she doesn't yet look like a fully developed racehorse. "We've already waited 12 months for her," said co-trainer Andrew Scott. "A year ago she showed us plenty, but she was physically fragile." Bayliss rode her exactly as he'd predicted on Friday: "I will use her inside gate, but I won't take her out of her comfort zone. It would be nice to trail the speed, but if she wants to be one pair further back [three deep the rail] that's where we will be." That's where she ended.
The disappointment was when Bayliss was charged with causing interference when Spring Heat, through greenness, over-reacted when she was asked to move away from an inside position and into the clear in the home straight. The nine raceday suspension looked harsh in the extreme, even allowing it was a Group race.
Even that couldn't put a dent in the moment for the Australian — it was his first Group-rated victory. "It's something I've tried hard to achieve for a while now. I've gone close a couple of times and haven't always had good luck." You get a surprise when you ask Bayliss, who came out of his apprenticeship three months ago, who his riding idol was growing up. He says his father Jamie, even though he retired around the time his youngest son was born.
"Dad was a good jockey and he retired when he was 24. He took out his jockey's licence again after a 20-year gap when Regan (older brother) and I started riding, simply so he could be out there riding alongside us. The first time the three of us rode in the same race I won it, Regan finished second and dad finished last.
"But that's not the story of the race. It was such a proud moment for us all to be riding together. Dad rode in the straight six (1200m) on Melbourne Cup day and he won a race at Moonee Valley. I am also indebted to Mick Kent, who I was apprenticed to." Bayliss says his father has been an outstanding mentor. "He's tough on us boys, but he's always fair. He calls after each raceday to tell me where he believes I have gone wrong. It's a good way to learn." Sure enough Bayliss senior had called his son before he'd left Ellerslie to pinpoint errors.
From what we've seen there are very few. Andrew Scott and training partner Lance O'Sullivan are impressed. "He's a worker this kid — after a tough trackwork session he'll go straight for a run." Although arrangements are loose-ended, Bayliss expects to be in New Zealand until March.
