First winning strike for Okay Cupid

Tivaci three-year-old Okay Cupid was excellent when resuming and he turned in a rousing follow-up performance on Friday afternoon to go one better at Geelong.

He had finished runner-up in his Bendigo return last month and showed the benefit of that outing when he opened his winning account for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott over 1400 metres.

The Waikato Stud-bred and sold Okay Cupid was caught wide early before striding to the front and, although hotly challenged in the straight, he rallied strongly to score by half a-head.

“He was only fair to begin, but there is a nice, long run down the back straight and I let him cruise forward to take control,” rider Jordan Childs said.

“He gave a good kick in the straight and it was nice for him to get that maiden win out of the way.”

Okay Cupid is the first foal of Savabeel’s multiple stakes-placed daughter Date Night, who is out of the dual Group 3-winning O’Reilly mare Dating.

He was offered at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale on behalf on the Matamata nursery by Glenn Lee Thoroughbreds and secured for A$180,000 by his trainers and Kestrel Thoroughbreds.

Date Night’s Super Seth filly was sold to Mitchell Bloodstock and trainer Annabel Neasham at Karaka and the dam produced another daughter of the Dundeel stallion last season and is back in foal to Tivaci.