You don’t often see a win like what Tsarevich produced at Wednesday’s Kembla Grange meeting but it’s not the first time trainer John Sargent has seen it – and it draws a connection to the mighty mare Winx.
Sargent admits he was gobsmacked to see the three-year-old gelding pick them up and win after looking gone at the 200m mark and said the last time that happened was with Gust Of Wind at Scone.
Gust Of Wind was the last horse to have ever beaten Winx before she went on her unbeaten 33-win streak.
The Randwick-based conditioner is hoping Tsarevich can follow in the footsteps of Gust Of Wind and compete at the top level.
Tsarevich produces an incredible finish to win Race 5 at @kemblaraces! 🔥@jsargentracing@MollyBourke7pic.twitter.com/lRymHaGyVU
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 28, 2026
• Ryan backs ‘strong filly with plenty of brains’ to shine on debut
“The last time that happened to me was Gust Of Wind winning first-up at Scone,” Sargent said.
“She was a brilliant horse, and I would love to see this horse go on to be like what Gust Of Wind was.
“He’s a laid-back, staying type that just works around with the others so I wasn’t sure what he would show there yesterday.
“He had one start last season and just got a bit lost and finished out the back.”
While Sargent didn’t have much expectation going into Wednesday’s first-up run, bookmakers also gave the son of Russian Camelot little hope, installing him as a $31 outsider.
It was the stablemate, Cosmic Avenger ($3.10 fav), that started favourite and was the horse Sargent thought he had won the race with at the final furlong before running a narrow second.
Tune in for rare footage of the great mare Winx running second!
How good was Gust Of Wind in the 2015 Australian Oaks? pic.twitter.com/iS4ICN3cxt
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 5, 2023
• ‘Takes a bit out of him’: Gollan’s balancing act with sprint star Zarastro
Sargent was full of praise to his apprentice, Molly Bourke, declaring a senior rider probably would have given up when Tsarevich was struggling to keep up at the top of the straight.
“I think the main thing that helped was having my apprentice Molly Bourke on because if it was a senior rider they might have given up on the turn,” Sargent said.
“She didn’t think she would pick them up, but he just started to run through the bridle 100m out, so she knew he was finishing strongly.
“Albeit it wasn’t a strong field but it’s good to know you’ve got a turn of foot.”
As for future aspirations with Tsarevich, Sargent will throw in a nomination for the Australian Derby and said the horse has the pedigree for it.
“They brought the mare from England, and she actually died after having him in a float accident,” Sargent said.
“So, he’s well-bred on the dam side being out of a Frankel mare, so that’s going to help him when he gets out over further and we hopefully start to look at races like the Derby.”
Bookmakers installed Tsarevich into Australian Derby markets as a $51 hope following the win on Wednesday.
