General rules at Seymour

General James asserted his authority at the second time of asking at Seymour yesterday. The three-year-old had last month finished an unlucky second on debut at Bendigo where his jockey lost his whip when narrowly beaten.

The gelding and rider James Winks made no mistake this time and they produced a strong performance to score over a mile. A WS-bred and sold son of Savabeel, he was a $130,000 Premier Sale purchase last year for trainer Danny O’Brien and Blue Sky Thoroughbreds.

General James, whose brother went to Rogerson Bloodstock for $100,000 earlier this year at Karaka, is out of the unraced O’Reilly mare Splendid. She is a sister to Gr 2 Hong Kong Derby Trial winner Unique Jewellery and the family of the Gr 1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner and sire Nadeem and the Gr 1 HK Stewards’ Cup winner Billion Win.