Freakish talent Rejuvenate is off to Sydney for the Golden Easter Egg after a record-breaking victory in the $17,215 Shepparton Classic Final (450m) last Saturday night.
Rejuvenate, owned and trained by Paul Brown, blitzed his rivals to win the Classic in a gobsmacking 24.590sec, erasing the previous benchmark of 24.655sec, established by Mr. Audacious in last year’s Shepparton Cup heats.
A November ’20 son of former Sandown Park record holder Hooked On Scotch and Zall Good, bred by Brown’s parents Ian and Maureen, Rejuvenate has threatened to claim a Shepparton record since bursting onto the scene last August.
“He’s always had it in him,” said Brown.
“He’s only been one or two lengths off these records, so it was nice to get the monkey off his back.
“It was only a matter of time before he broke one. He just runs time wherever you take him. He’s a freak of a dog.”
Rejuvenate has now won 15 of his 18 starts, with his only unplaced effort coming when fifth in the G1 Silver Chief, while he’s won eight from nine at Shepparton, being unbeaten in three assignments over 385m and winning five from six over 450m.
In January, he was less than a less off the 385m record, clocking 21.25sec, while he was only .10sec outside the 450m benchmark when winning his Classic heat in 24.75sec.
That performance saw Rejuvenate start $1.60 from box six in Saturday’s $11,440 to-the-winner final, with Tinker Norm (box 5) at $4.50 and the favourite’s litter brother and kennelmate Hot Scotch (box 4) at $5.50 the only others at single figures.
WATCH: “Rejuvenate has destroyed the track record!” REJUVENATE (B6) smashed Shepparton’s 450m track record when winning the Shepparton Classic Final in 24.590sec on Saturday night.
When Rejuvenate came out running, it was a matter of time and margins, although there was huge merit in the performance of runner-up Tinker Norm, which ran 24.88sec in defeat, while third-placed Lawless ($10.30) also broke 25 seconds.
“You can never be too confident in these races, but once our bloke was up near the front I wasn’t really worried, because I know how strong he is,” Brown said.
“But I thought Tinker Norm went enormous to run second after missing the start.
“I’m very lucky to get a dog like this. People go their whole life and don’t get one as good as him.”
Training newcomer Brown, 40, who hails from Burramine, between Yarrawonga and Cobram, is now heading interstate with Rejuvenate, with the heats of the G1 Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park on March 25 the next feature target.
The 520m in Sydney will certainly pose no concerns after Rejuvenate clocked a near-record 29.47sec at The Meadows when winning a Silver Chief heat.
His absence is good news for rival sprinters eyeing the G2 Shepparton Cup and Ballarat Cups, which clash with the Easter Egg series.
“We haven’t locked anything definite in yet, but I’m going to trial him in Sydney in the next week,” Brown explained.
“We’ll give him a look at Wentworth Park and see how he goes and make a decision from there, but I think the Easter Egg is the go.”
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Saturday night’s Shepparton meeting also featured the $17,215 Matchmakers Final (450m) for the young female sprinters, with Spaghetti Legs victorious for Steve Elsum in 25.20sec.
Spaghetti Legs, a daughter of Aussie Infrared and Screen Shot, now the winner of seven of her 15 starts, had dead-heated with star sprinter Baby Jaycee in Ballarat’s Lil Dickie Oaks Final last month.
