BRILLIANT RETURN BY HARADASUN

Australian racegoers received another mouth-watering sighting of the region's most exciting galloper when Haradasun (3c, Fusaichi Pegasus-Circles of Gold, by Marscay) resumed from an enforced lay-off with an impressive success in the Listed MRC Zeditave Stakes (1200m).

The exceptional son of Fusaichi Pegasus took another small step to greatness by landing the stakes contest with an outstanding display of speed and tractability, overcoming an awkward passage throughout the 1200-metre assignment. Caught off the track and covering extra ground at a crucial stage of the contest, Haradasun asserted his superiority at the top of the home straight and soon had the outcome in his control.

"Not in my wildest dreams did I think he would get beaten," was trainer Tony Vasil's assessment in post-race interviews. "It was like a track gallop. He had no favours, was wide facing the breeze with no cover, but he just cantered around." The brilliant son of Fusaichi Pegasus scored by a length despite being eased down well before the finishing line.

Having only the fourth outing of his career, it is widely believed that Haradasun should still be unbeaten after finishing a luckless runner-up to champion filly Miss Finland in his only defeat to date. The prime target for the colt in his current 3-year-old campaign is the Group One VRC Australian Guineas (1600m) in March, this year to be staged at his home circuit of Caulfield.