INCENTIVISE GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. THIS TIME IT WAS A TWELVE LENGTH WINNING MARGIN

By Graham Potter | Sunday, June 27, 2021

To keep winning when you step up in class is one thing. To keep increasing your winning margin is another thing altogether, particularly when you won your last three starts by 7.30 lengths, 9.00 lengths and 9.50 lengths … but that is exactly what the Steve Tregea trained Incentivise did at Eagle Farm, turning his first attempt at a Group level assignment into a now all too familiar procession as he romped home in the Group 3 Tattersall’s Cup over 2400m … this time by an breathtaking 12.00 length margin.

That makes it an incredible combined winning margin of 37.80 lengths in his last four starts!

Little surprise then that the bookmakers have already taken fright this early and moved Incentivise to the top of the betting boards for both the Caulfield Cup (at $9) and the Melbourne Cup ($15).

Move over Zaaki!

There is still a long way to go to those big races, but the truth is nobody knows just how good Incentivise might be yet and taking cover would appear to be a prudent option for the bookmakers at this time.

“For a horse that you wouldn’t give two bob for twelve months ago … I just don’t know what to say. He just keeps on improving and improving,” said Tregea.

“He obviously looks like a stayer and that is exactly what he is. He keeps surprising. He has done better this week than he did the week before.

‘You can dream of Melbourne Cup’s, but so many things can go wrong before that. We not there yet but, after today, you have got to start thinking seriously about it. He is a beauty!”

Steve Tregea has stuck fast with jockey Anthony Allen during Incentivise’s rapid ride to prominence and he made of point of saying that it gave him, ‘a huge amount of pleasure to have Allen on board.”

This was Allen’s first winning ride at Group racing level.

“We you are on a horse like that, he gives you the confidence to ride him like he is the best horse in the race … and clearly he is,” said Allen, who has now been on Incentivise in five wins of his six race winning sequence.

“I didn’t know it was twelve lengths. He has just got that massive stride which allows him to make ground like that. It doesn’t matter how far ahead he goes, he still gives you that same feel.

“There is just no point in trying to clutter him up or ride him back. Rather just let him roll and be where he is happy to be.

“I did say to Steve that he showed a bit more character and is getting a bit more confidence … but he is a big kid of a horse. He still wants to have a bit of a play. That’s one of the things I love about him.

“I’m blessed to ride a horse of his calibre. He’ll be going down south to Peter Moody … and I think he is going to shoot the lights out there.

“Peter Moody was at the track and he did pop in and say g’day. I think he has got some fun times coming in the future with this horse.

“The way I see it is that the Incentivise team just got bigger. There are more people involved in trying to get the horse to the top and I think we have got the horse to take it there.”

Steve Tregea sold a fifty percent share in Incentivise prior to its penultimate start in Provincial Stayers Final at Ipswich but, even after another two scintillating wins, he does not regret that decision.

“You never look back when you sell a horse or a share in a horse,” said Tregea.

In the case of Incentivise … why would you when you have got so much to look forward to!

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