Fell Swoop has continued his impressive run of form through the 2015 Spring Carnival with an impressive win in the Listed Testa Rossa Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield this afternoon.

Fell Swoop continued his slick run of form with success in the Testa Rossa Stakes this afternoon. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos

Fell Swoop has one his three most recent starts leading into the Testa Rossa Stakes and did his chances of further success no hard when jumping well and settling on the heels of Thermal Current and It Is Written.

Forced wide rounding onto the final straight, Fell Swoop locked in a fierce pace battle with the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Charlie Boy with 300m to run; the pair early overcoming the race leaders before Matthew Dale’s stable star mustered a superior kick to finish half a length in the clear.

Fell Swoop kicked a plate at the barriers prior to jump, and while worried it has spelled an end for his chances, Dale said all options remain on the table for the son of Not A Single Doubt this time but is confident he will be a far better horse during the 2016 Autumn Carnival; underlining a race like the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) as an ideal target.

“I suppose the worry for me started when he cast a plate at the start, it just sort of changed his mind set a bit and he was a bit anxious behind the gates,”

“Then once he didn’t get cover he pulled pretty hard three-wide when they dropped anchor and scrambled around the bend once again.

“For him to balance up and fight back like that, it shows the true quality of a tough racehorse that really wants to win.

“Nothing went according to my plan today so I’ll just sleep on it now and see how he comes through it mentally.

“Everything is on the cards. I’ve said all along he’s a slow maturer and that showed again today. He;s still raw so there’s a long way to go.”

Charlie Boy carried a race-high 60kgs to second in the 2015 Testa Rossa Stakes, while four-year-old Java opened his Spring Carnival campaign well in running on for third.