KEY POINTS:
This time last year John Sargent decided he wanted to crank things up and have a crack at being New Zealand's leading trainer.
Sargent didn't have the dramatic results at the time with which to suddenly attract new owners from the yearling sales.
He ended up with two fillies in syndication - one was Il Quello Veloce who took her place in last night's $1 million Karaka Million.
This time it's different. He lost Everswindell from Saturday's $350,000 Wellington Cup when she broke down badly the previous week, but he still managed to produce a remarkably timely victory with Young Centaur as his badge of honour to take into today's sale ring for the start of New Zealand Bloodstock's premier session yearling sale.
And he didn't do it with a horse he bought to promote his Matamata stable. He bought Young Centaur for $12,000 in Adelaide in 2004, long before his premiership aspirations.
Young Centaur had his detractors going into the Wellington Cup, many pointing out that he'd twice failed in the St Leger at Trentham, once at three and again the following year as a 4-year-old.
But even back then Sargent knew he had a potential topliner.
"He was too weak as a 3-year-old and when he tackled the St Leger as a 4-year-old he struck a wet track," he recalled.
Sargent owns 50 per cent of Young Centaur and he owes a big shout to South Australian trainer Tony McEvoy, who was caretaker trainer for the mammoth Lindsay Park, waiting for David Hayes' return from Hong Kong.
"I was looking at Lindsay Park's draft for the Adelaide sales and Tony took me aside.
"He said, 'buy one of these Jeune colts. They're good horses, but the Australians can't train them, they gallop them too much. Take one home with you. Look after it and wait for it and you'll have a good stayer'."
With McEvoy's words constantly ringing in his ears, the astute Sargent resisted all temptations to over-match Young Centaur - until Saturday.
Sargent advertised for owners last year, but his partner in Young Centaur, South African-born Asian Aston Soon Shiong, virtually dropped in his lap.
Shiong runs a food business in Uitenhage, south of Port Elizabeth on South Africa's east coast, but spends most of his time on the world professional poker playing circuit.
He has a sister living in Waikato and a couple of years ago was regularly betting in the Frankton TAB run by James Cunneen.
The pair became friends and when Shiong asked Cunneen to find him a horse he took the South African to Matamata to the Moroney stable and to John Sargent's, where Young Centaur happened to be about to be put into work.
"I love his style," said Cunneen, who had hoped to get Shiong to Trentham, but says he will definitely have him in New Zealand for when Young Centaur tackles the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie in March.
"I've always cultivated a young group of punters in my TAB and Aston comes in and starts betting and rallies all these young people and they have a ball.
"If he backs a winner suddenly he's shouting pizza for everyone. He's great company."
Cunneen said Shiong became sick while competing in a professional poker tournament in South Africa last week, but stuck in there and won the tournament.
A message arrived on Cunneen's mobile in the committee room 40 minutes after the Cup.
Despite the fact that it was still in the early hours in South Africa, it was from Shiong.
The text message read "Don't lose the gold cup."
Michael Walker played his part by riding a magnificent race on Young Centaur, putting the horse straight into a position just ahead of mid-field and quietly camping there waiting to pounce.
"I could imagine John in the grandstand saying: 'don't go yet, don't go yet'.
"But I had a lot of horse under me and I thought with his light weight I'd sprint him clear and make the others try and catch him."
Fellow Matamata stayer Resolution did very well to come from last at the 800m to take second, but was never a winning chance as Young Centaur sprinted clear.
Mirkola Lass, as usual, ran a brave race to take third.
Pasta Post, just inside or behind Young Centaur throughout, couldn't muster a sprint and was just less than 10 lengths from the winner in 10th place.
"He felt like he failed to stay the distance," said rider Sean Collins.
