Yocto impresses with debut victory

Flemington training partners Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra scored their third two-year-old win in the month of January after Yocto won on debut at Thursday’s Seymour meeting.

Sweet Little Lies started the month well for the stable when the filly obliterated her opposition at Caulfield on January 7 before Formidable posted a surprise win at Flemington last Saturday.

Punters were behind Yocto after backing the son of Lonhro in from $2.70 to start as a $2.10 favourite to win the Railway Club Hotel Maiden Plate (1100m) but the gelding had to fight hard to give his backers a return on their money.

Yocto jumped well to find the lead easily for jockey Chris Symons, who was able to give the youngster an easy time midrace, before going for home at the 250 metres.

Yocto looked set to slip away from his rivals with 100 metres to go before hanging out under pressure to allow the $7 chance Maughan to get within a short half-head of upsetting the favourite.

“I thought in the end it was a good workmanlike win,” Zahra said.

“He jumped well enough and travelled well for Chris but his inexperience just showed in the last little bit.

“He will learn from that and gain plenty of fitness for his next run, which will probably be over more ground than that run.”

Retained to race by his breeder, the Contract Racing Syndicate, Yocto is out of Miss Jugah, who was a stakes winner at two in the VRC Maribyrnong Trial Stakes before winning at Group III level in the Mannerism Stakes later in her career.

Yocto became the fifth winner from as many foals to race for Miss Jugah.