Marcado scored a strong debut victory at stakes level. A little slowly away from the barriers, Marcado over-raced a little on the back of the leaders before taking up the lead approaching the 600m, still racing a little ungenerously. Steven King aboard the winner then allowed the talented two-year-old drift across to the flat side rail when joining the course proper. He responded well to pressure in the closing stages holding off the late lunge of Orujo to score with a little in reserve. A smart performance by a green but very talented two-year-old. Orujo was away well from the barriers but settled down in seventh racing closer to the centre of the track. He was one of the first runners to come under pressure but came strongly between runners at the 250m and chased the leader, pushing him the whole way to the line. Lady Sharapova looked for a bit of cover from her low draw (2), settling down in eighth position a little run off her feet. She switched closer to the flat rail joining the course proper and battled on strongly to claim third near the line, gaining some small black type for this valuable filly. *ANZ