Promising three-year-old Roman Emperor emerged as a contender to give Bart Cummings his 250th Group One winner with victory at Randwick setting up a tilt at the Spring Champion Stakes.
Although the win over 1550m came at just the colt's second start, Cummings said there was every chance he could run in the Group One Spring Champion (2000m) on Saturday week.
"He is still a bit green but he is a very nice horse in the making," Cummings said.
"The three-year-old staying ranks are not littered with depth so the Spring Champion could be a good opportunity for him."
Roman Emperor is by European sire of stayers Montjeu as is his stablemate Mangala who also ran in Tuesday's ALM Handicap.
Both dropped out at the rear of the field and made their runs from the top of the straight with Roman Emperor doing best to overhaul Rocha and win by a head with Blackbriar a long neck third.
Mangala finished fourth, 1-1/2 lengths from the winner.
Hugh Bowman rode Roman Emperor and suggested he might need a tongue tie, a suggestion Cummings scoffed at.
"You'd put a tongue tie on the stable cat," was his response.
Earlier the Rick Worthington-trained Detroit Song lived up to his $2.10 favouritism to give Australian Jockey Club chairman Ross Smyth-Kirk a win in the IGA D Maiden (1800m).
"He is a stayer in the making and it's good to win at Randwick," Smyth-Kirk said.
He and Worthington will be back at Randwick on Saturday with Whitefriars who will put his Caulfield Guineas hopes on the line in the Group Two Stan Fox Stakes (1400m).
"He is going well and the Caulfield Guineas is the aim as long as he comes through okay," Worthington said.
In four starts, Whitefriars has won a two-year-old maiden and run second as a three-year-old to Duporth in the San Domenico Stakes.
Duporth went on to win the $1 million Golden Rose and will run in either the Stan Fox or the Group One George Main Stakes (1600m) on Saturday.
