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Sleepless breaks his maiden in promising fashion

Sleepless, a New Zealand bred purchase in late 2018, kicked off his 3yo campaign in fine style at Hamilton on Tuesday for trainer Archie Alexander.

He took his place in the 1600m WDEA Works Maiden Plate with 13 fellow competitors, settling towards the rear of the field following a slow start from barrier 9. He was well back and wide at the corner, before powering home over the rest of the field in the concluding stages to win with something in hand.

To view Sleepless’ win via Racing.com, CLICK HERE.

Whilst a Tuesday maiden race is not often something to be overly excited about, it was the manner in which Sleepless won the race that excited most.  He is a horse who is only going to appreciate getting out over much further than Tuesday’s distance.

This promising son of Rip Van Winkle will now look to build his handicap mark in a bid to qualify for staying 3yo races in the Autumn. He’s now likely to take his place in the 1800m BM64 ($50,000) at Caulfield on the 18th of December.

A race like the 2400m Group 1 Queensland Derby ($600,000) looms as a possible long-range target in June 2020.

Sleepless (NZ) ridden by Neil Farley returns to scale after winning the WDEA Works Maiden Plate at Hamilton Racecourse on December 03, 2019 in Hamilton, Australia. (Alice Laidlaw/Racing Photos)