COLEMAN WINS DEBUTANT STAKES FIRST UP

Brilliant 2yo colt Coleman (Pierata x Sboog) announced himself as a genuine Blue Diamond prospect, winning the Magic Millions Debutant Stakes at Caulfield first up, ridden by Ben Melham. Although he raced a bit keenly early, the athletic son of Pierata quickly let down in the straight to score by over a length.

Matt was happy to have his star colt tucked in behind runners . "I was hoping they'd go a bit quicker - obviously it would have helped him," he reflected after the race. "But I think it will be good for him long term. We don't want him to just be a jump and run - we want to teach him settle and round it off."

On the colt's efforts in the straight, Matt was clearly pleased with the way Coleman handled his first start. "He still got the wanders up, he's green as you would expect but he delivered when placed under pressure by Ben. He's only going to get better."

Expectation was high for this colt - especially from the market - sending him out favourite even though there were six trial winners in the race.

Post race jockey Ben Melham gave even more insight into the colt. "He's a very competitive horse, he got his head up a little bit early which he can do. He just took a little bit off his finish due to his antics early. The leader gave a good kick after a steady lead and he (Coleman) did a good job to nail it back."

"Once he got it right, he was lovely. He was just better than them I think." Melham added, "he's going to learn a lot from this outing today and he's a good colt to look forward to in the future."

Coleman was a $550,000 purchase by Matt & Bahen Bloodstock at the 2023 Gold Coast Magic Millions sales in January.

Watch Coleman's win in the Debutant Stakes below.