“He’s as fast as just about any I’ve driven”

WHEN a horseman the calibre of Luke McCarthy makes a grand statement about a pacer following a mid-grade country win it’s best to take notice.

Making his debut for McCarthy’s trainer-wife Belinda’s stable, Spirit Of St Louis completed a soft win in Goulburn yesterday.

With McCarthy in the cart, the son of Sweet Lou scored by seven-and-a-half metres from Check In, with I Am Serengeti four metres away third.

Never fully extended, Spirit Of St Louis rated 1:55.2 over 1710 metres to take his record to nine wins and five placings from 20 starts.

“He’s as fast as just about any I’ve driven,” McCarthy declared. “He’s got speed to burn.

“He can cover the grand very quickly and smoothly and should only get better.

“That was his first run in 10 weeks so there is plenty of room for improvement.”

Confident the four-year-old can complete a quick transition through the grades, McCarthy revealed Spirit Of St Louis has been aimed at the inaugural The Rising Sun.

The $250,000 feature for three and four-year-olds is scheduled to be conducted at Albion Park on July 10.

“He won’t be out of place in a race such as The Rising Sun, so that’s what we are aiming at,” McCarthy said.

“There is also the Four-Year-Old Championship a week later, and depending on how he goes, The Blacks A Fake a week after that.

“He’ll have a couple more runs here before we look at taking him to Queensland.”