First Five plays another blinder

David Greene will be lifting his sights with First Five next season and is confident his son of Almanzor can deliver at stakes level.

The Te Rapa trainer has the winning polish on the progressive four-year-old who left his Te Aroha rivals with no excuses after he gave them weight and a beating over 1400 metres.

“I’m not sure how much further we’ll go this preparation, but I’m sure he’s got a Group race in him,” Greene said.

First Five carried topweight of 59.5kg and came from back in the field with long strides to win with authority and post his fifth victory from 14 outings.

“He’s done it well and he’s a different horse when he’s got a target to chase, when he gets to the front he can switch off, but he’s got a lot of talent,” Greene said.

First Five was partnered by Warren Kennedy, who was suitably impressed with the performance.

“He’s done a really good job, they went at good pace and made him carry his weight,” he said.

“He’s got a huge stride and ran away from them, it was very comfortable.”

Bred by part-owner Gerald Shand, First Five is out of the multiple-winning Volksraad mare Payette and her Almanzor three-year-old Ramblin On was a last-start runner-up at his second start for trainer Andrew Forsman.

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