‘Aussie Battler’ Michael Davison landed a litter double on consecutive days with Texicali Tiger and Texicali Velvet in late January.
The son and daughter of a Dec ’19 My Redeemer x Starface pairing, Texicali Tiger ($7.90) was the first of the duo to salute when a narrow victor in the $3300 to-the-winner GRV Vic Bred Grade 5 Series final (350m) on January 30.
And the Talbot-based Davison was quick to tell RSN racecaller Victoria Shaw he’s “over the moon”.
“It’s thrilling to finally win a final with him, he’s made so many finals and has been the ‘bridesmaid’ but today he was the bride,” Davison said.
Setting a new 19.42sec PB, Davison added: “He’s only a young dog, and I hope that he can improve on that again.”
One day later, Texicali Velvet ($4.40) took out a Maiden (390m) in 22.96sec at Warrnambool to complete a memorable 24 hours for Davison.
During the video interview, Davison explains the meaning behind the ‘Texicali’ (Texas-California) moniker and touches on his previous experience with Texicali Rose (Flying Penske x Indigo Creek) – the result of American bloodlines – which was a 2008 G1 Sandown Cup finalist.
Davison also believes once again using the ‘Texicali’ handle has brought him a bit of luck.
And he shares in the video, after Shaw points out how hard Texicali Tiger came home, that “I originally set him for the Silver Chief, but he never got a run, so I started running him over 500m at The Meadows”.
“That took a little bit away from him ‘early’, but it made him a lot stronger, and in the near future we’ll see if we can win one in town.”
Over the last couple of weeks, Shaw has seen Texicali Tiger (19 starts: 4-6-2) on numerous occasions and is quite taken by some of his earlier performances.
More recently, when discussing Texicali Tiger’s Healesville form, Davison has been a little bit frustrated with ‘Tiger’s’ progress, but still maintains a firm belief in the beautiful young red brindle dog he bred.
WATCH: Texicali Tiger (1) nabs Silver Ability (4) on the line at Healesville on January 30.
Davison’s faith in using the prefix ‘Texicali’ would again bring some luck to his kennel when Texicali Velvet won her first race, handling the ‘pink’ beautifully at her seventh start.
Additionally, with littermates Texicali Sweety (15: 3-1-1), Texicali Skull (2: 0-0-1), Texicali Master
and Texicali Lady, it appears Davison has more than a little ‘USA’ confidence on his hands.
But what is crucial to Davison, more than winning dividends, becomes obvious when he concludes: “More importantly, he (Texicali Tiger) is a good mate at home, and I love the dog.”
WATCH: Texicali Velvet (8) ‘breaks the ice’ in smooth style at Warrnambool on January 31.
