Ballistic Boy finally broke through for a win at Group level on Saturday by taking out the Group 3 Rough Habit Plate (2200m) at Eagle Farm in a dominant staying performance.
The three-year-old by Smart Missile was installed as the easing $2.80 favourite in the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au following an encouraging runner-up performance behind Supergiant in the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic (1800m) a fortnight ago.
Widely regarded as a promising up and coming stayer, Ballistic Boy has struggled at the barriers when racing at Group level, but always looked capable of winning following a pair of dominant wins at Eagle Farm second-up and the Sunshine Coast earlier in his prep.
Ballistic Boy won the 2020 Rough Habit Plate at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart.
Trainer Chris Anderson, who was also searching for his first win at Group level, knew barrier 12 was a problem on Saturday, but the earlier race pattern of the day seemed to suit his gelding with many winners running on late from out wide.
“Brad Stewart just gave him a peach of a ride didn’t he?” Anderson told Sky Racing.
“It wasn’t an easy watch, I can tell you. I guess the horses have been running so well but we’ve just been missing by very small margins.”
Navy Cross set a cracking tempo in the early stages while Ballistic Boy established a spot sitting seventh one-off the fence.
Stewart moved up coming out of the turn before taking up the lead at the 100m mark to kick clear, while Supergiant was on the receiving end this time finishing runner-up.
As for Ballistic Boy’s immediate future, Anderson couldn’t say for sure.
“He’ll probably go to the paddock. I’ll have a chat to Duncan to see what we’ll do, but hopefully we don’t sell him to Hong Kong. I know there’s been a few offers in the past, so hopefully he can stay in Australia and we can have a bit more fun with him.”
2020 Rough Habit Plate Results
| Colour | Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | 1 | BALLISTIC BOY | Chris Anderson | Brad Stewart | 12 | 57kg | $2.80F | ||
 |
2 | 3 | SUPERGIANT (NZ) | Michael Costa | Allan Chau | 1.5L | 11 | 57kg | $4.60 | |
 |
3 | 4 | NAVY CROSS | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Ryan Maloney | 1.7L | 4 | 57kg | $6 | |
 |
4 | 12 | MAN OF SINN (NZ) | Chris Waller | Michael Cahill | 3L | 3 | 57kg | $26 | |
 |
5 | 2 | SMART METEOR | Chris Munce | Mark Du Plessis | 3.4L | 5 | 57kg | $12 | |
 |
6 | 9 | STEEL PIER | Tony Gollan | Baylee Nothdurft (a) | 3.5L | 8 | 57kg | $51 | |
 |
7 | 15 | MISHANI SECRET | Mark Currie | James Innes Jnr | 5.2L | 10 | 55kg | $10 | |
 |
8 | 7 | IMPACTFUL | Chris Waller | Luke Dittman | 5.5L | 14 | 57kg | $31 | |
 |
9 | 13 | BOLD DELAGO | Gordon Hay | Ms Stephanie Thornton | 5.6L | 2 | 57kg | $151 | |
 |
10 | 14 | TRADUCE (NZ) | Maryann Brosnan | Blake Spriggs | 6.4L | 6 | 57kg | $201 | |
 |
11 | 11 | MARAKOPA (NZ) | Chris Waller | Jim Byrne | 7.4L | 9 | 57kg | $21 | |
 |
12 | 8 | NEPTUNE’S CHOICE | Brian J Smith | Boris Thornton | 11.1L | 7 | 57kg | $41 | |
 |
13 | 6 | JUST SOCIETY (NZ) | John O’Shea | Andrew Mallyon | 16.6L | 15 | 57kg | $19 | |
 |
14 | 10 | EMPIRE GAMES | Chris Anderson | James Orman | 17.4L | 13 | 57kg | $41 | |
 |
15 | 5 | MAGIC BEANS | John Zielke | Nozi Tomizawa | 22.9L | 1 | 57kg | $151 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia
