Quality youngster Spirited Eagle made the step up from Adelaide to Melbourne in style when he worked home brilliantly to win the Jim Conway 2YO Handicap (1200m) at Sandown today.

The only Magic Millions graduate in the field, Spirited Eagle was sluggish out of the barriers, but finished full of running alongside the rail to real in the leaders and race clear to win well.

Prepared in Adelaide by Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas, Spirited Eagle was sent at good odds despite winning two of his past three starts at his home track of Morphettville.

Victoria Derby and Magic Millions Classic winning rider Clare Lindop elected to cross the border with the Not a Single Doubt youngster rather than stay in Adelaide for a larger book of rides.

“It’s always tough when you ride for a big stable and you’ve got a good line up back at home,” a beaming Lindop said.

“I was hoping this might be the first race and I might be able to get back (to Adelaide) for some later ones – but it didn’t work out,” she added.

Lindop thinks Spirited Eagle might be a prospect for the spring carnival – a time of the year the stable usually unearths a couple of good stakes prospects.

“I’m really happy with him though and I’m hoping he might be able to come back to Melbourne as a three-year-old – he hopefully he keeps taking the appropriate steps.”

The trail blazing rider said she wasn’t concerned that the gelding was sluggish out of the barriers – knowing his usual style is to take some time to find his feet.

“I had a walk of the track earlier and I thought the inside would be the place – particularly in the first couple of races.”

“I know what he is like and for the first furlong you can’t hurry him. He has to do it in his own time.”

“Luckily we were able to get a nice run on the inside and we were able to pick them up in the last furlong.”

The juvenile gelding was purchased by renowned Adelaide horseman and bloodstock agent Adrian Hancock for $85,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Hancock took a shine to the youngster from the Arrowfield Stud draft and purchased him on behalf of well known businessman and thoroughbred lover Wolf Blass.

The two-year-old gelding is a son of the Magic Millions 2YO Classic runner-up Not a Single Doubt – an exciting young sire son of Redoute’s Choice standing at Arrowfield.

His dam Rezidencia, a daughter of Carnegie, won two races, including one at Moonee Valley and is a daughter of the triple group winner an Stradbroke Handicap runner-up Society Bay.

Rezidencia is therefore a half sister to three stakes performers including the New Zealand Group Two and Brisbane Group Three winner Society Beau.

Another half sister, the winning mare Logical Lady, is the dam of the dual New Zealand Group One winning and American Group Two winning filly Final Destination.

It is also the family of the Hong Kong Champions Mile winner Sight Winner and AJC St Leger winner Duanette’s Girl.

File photos courtesy of Jenny Barnes (www.barnesphotography.com.au).