Punters could have secured astronomical odds about the Craig Weeding-trained Induction before his boilover victory at Wangaratta on Sunday.
The four-year-old Holler gelding opened at $23 in the 1000m Maiden Plate before drifting to as much as $126 with TAB and a remarkable $400 with Sportsbet. Support arrived late, however, with Induction eventually jumping a $26 chance.
The gelding certainly didn’t disappoint.
Relishing the heavy conditions, Induction settled well for jockey Jake Duffy before charging clear in the home straight to record a dominant 4.25-length victory.
“He’s a big brute of a thing that ran third at his previous two starts and this morning he got out to 400/1,” Weeding said after the race.
“Quite a few people had a couple of dollars on him, so they’ll be pretty happy.”
Bred and raced by Bucklee Farm’s Leeanne Smith, the victory was a particularly satisfying result for the stable and connections after the horse overcame a significant setback early in life.
“Congratulations to Leeanne Smith from Bucklee Farm, she bred him,” Weeding said.
“He actually broke his pelvis as a foal and she nursed him for a year and a half, giving him all the time he needed.
“I’m glad we could get the job done for her.”
The Wangaratta victory continues a strong run for the Weeding stable, which now turns its attention to a busy stretch of racing.
A two-pronged attack on Saturday’s Flemington meeting headlines the upcoming week, with stable stalwarts Make It Sweet (Jake Duffy) and Yam (Emily Pozman) set to contest the $80,000 Country Achiever Cindy Alderson (1420m).
The stable will also have runners engaged at Echuca on Saturday before backing up at Wagga on Sunday as Weeding and his team look to build momentum heading into the winter months.
