Sabaj signalled he is ready to make an impact during the autumn after breaking through for his first Stakes win under the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr banner.
The success also marked Price’s fourth victory in the Listed Cranbourne Cup, with the 1600m triumph prompting the stable to map out bigger targets for the lightly raced gelding.
Concerns about gaining a start — and later about his barrier — disappeared once Beau Mertens produced a textbook ride on the $3.30 favourite.
Sabaj proved too strong late, putting away Enxuto ($6.50) by three-quarters of a length, with Holyman ($16) narrowly behind in third.
The victory followed Globe’s success for the same yard the previous year before he claimed the Group 1 Might And Power (2000m) at Caulfield.
The upcoming Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) now sits firmly on Sabaj’s radar.
“I have to do my sums, but I can imagine him with a light weight and on a big track,” Price said.
“I know he handled the wet in the carnival, so the Doncaster is certainly a race you’d put a circle around.
“Light weight, big track, that’s him. He got himself out of jail here on this track, but the one good thing about being here is there’s a long 900-metre run so you are not jerking him around.
“He was off the fence, well balanced and he finished off strongly.
“I will put a circle around the Doncaster if I can because I don’t think he’s bottomed out, so if I spell him now, I’ll have a lovely horse in the autumn, which is very close.”
After arriving from the Richard and Chantelle Jolly yard in Adelaide, Sabaj was lining up for just his third run with his new stable.
“He is sort of a brand-new horse,” Price said.
“He’s perfectly sound, feet, knees, fetlock, lovely. He’s lightly raced, good ability. He’s clean winded and I think if we look after him, he will be fine.
“I’m not saying he’s a tough horse, that’s not how we treat him, but I think we’re gelling with him and if we treat him right, we can have a lovely horse in the autumn and we can chase a good race.”
For Mertens, the race provided a personal highlight, delivering his first Cranbourne Cup win on a track he knows intimately.
“It’s unbelievable. I didn’t think it would hit me as hard as it has,” Mertens said.
“I was apprenticed to Michael Kent here throughout my years at Cranbourne and now I have an association with Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr.
“Mick Price has been a big part of my career for a very long time, and we’ve had a great connection and a great association.
“It’s fantastic to deliver in such a fantastic race.”
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