Well bred 3yo ROCK THE SUNRISE broke through in the 1400m Super Maiden at Grafton on Monday.
The Matt Hoysted-trained gelding started a prohibitive odds-on favourite to shed his maiden at career start number 3, and after beginning well from the barriers, jockey Luke Rolls left nothing to chance, positioning the son of FASNET ROCK just off the speed.
ROCK THE SUNRISE looked the winner a fair way from home and emerged a comfortable victor, defeating the runner-up by 2.5 lengths despite wanting to float over the final 100m.
“Lovely win. I was really happy with the way he began today so I was able to give him a little dig and cross the field quite easily,” Rolls said post-race.
“He travelled sweetly and when I exposed him at the top of the straight, he had plenty to give but I also felt halfway down the straight he wanted to stargaze and have a look around so it’s all good experience for him.
“Going forward I think he will be better when he is ridden with something to chase.”
ROCK THE SUNRISE breaking through in the Super Maiden at Grafton yesterday. A healthy collect with the BOBS bonuses! @hoystedracing @NewgateFarm @mmsnippets @racing_nsw
🎥 @SkyRacingAU pic.twitter.com/AqbpEQPwIy
— PR🟢VEN Thoroughbreds (@ProvenTbreds) January 27, 2025
ROCK THE SUNRISE is bred to be at least a middle-distance galloper so to see him break his maiden relatively early in his career over a distance that will ultimately be well short of his optimum, was encouraging.
With the BOBS bonus, the gelding’s connections took home the lion’s share of $30,000 – a handsome reward given the lowly class of opposition.
A Newgate Farm graduate from the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, ROCK THE SUNRISE becomes Proven’s 27th winner for the season.
At Doomben later in the day, stablemate OCEAN ZAR went within 0.07 lengths of recording Proven’s 28th winner for the 2024-25 term.
