New Zealand stayer Ring of Fire set up a mouth-watering clash with Kiwi rival Sphenophyta in Saturday's Caloundra Cup with a determined win in the group three Tattersall's Cup at Eagle Farm.
Ridden in cold fashion by leading Brisbane jockey Stathi Katsidis, Ring of Fire jumped from a wide gate
and settled towards the rear of the field, spotting the leaders more than 10 lengths on the home turn.
But the lightly-raced Ring Of Fire ($4 favourite) responded to Katsidis' hard riding in the straight and finished powerfully to grab the game Empyreal ($9) in the shadows of the line to score by a neck.
The Pat Duff-trained Lester Thunderwing ran the trip right out and finished on strongly to finish a length back in third.
Ruakaka trainer Donna Logan admitted she held last week's Ipswich Cup winner Sphenophyta in high regard but had no fears about taking on the Richard Otto-trained galloper in the Caloundra Cup (2400m).
"I set him for this race all the way along and the second part of my plan is the Caloundra Cup and I'm not backing away from one horse," Logan said, referring to Sphenophyta.
Katsidis admitted that at one point he had given up all hope.
"I thought to myself, 'This cannot possibly win from here'," he said.
"And I knew it looked fairly ordinary being so wide but that was when I had to go on him and he just kept getting stronger every time I hit him.
"If anything, he was getting stronger on the line and he is a very, very good stayer."
Ring Of Fire was a late arrival in Brisbane for the winter carnival and Saturday's win was the culmination of Logan's long-range plan.
"This was always his race and I was very confident he wouldn't let me down but I do have to say I was very worried when he was so far back carrying 56 kilos," she said.
"We haven't seen the best of this horse yet. He's a very talented stayer in the making and I think the Metropolitan in Sydney will be the perfect race for him."
Empyreal's trainer, Peter McKenzie, said he was pleased with his horse's effort and confirmed the gelding would also back up in Saturday's Caloundra Cup.
