The Quarterback may have earned a trip west with a scintillating victory in Thursday’s $150,000 Dilmah Earl Grey Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.
Trainer Robbie Griffiths revealed he will consider taking the five-year-old to Perth for the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) at Ascot following the eye-catching win.
“He’s an exciting horse. He’s got a massive finish and when he unleashes it like he did today it’s exciting to watch,” Griffiths said.
“We’ve entered him in the Winterbottom, which might be a bit beyond him.
“Otherwise there’s some really nice sprints in January like the Standish and Kensington here at Flemington and he’s got such a great record at Flemington down the straight that you’d be mad not to look at races like that.”
WATCH: The Quarterback’s win
Laing admitted that he was concerned when the track was downgraded to heavy prior to the race and when the son of Street Boss was so far back in the run.
“I was concerned (he was too far back) but I could see (jockey) Matthew (Allen) had a good hold of him and he knows that he can time the run like that on him. He’s got a lot of belief in the horse and he knows his capabilities,” he said.
“My confidence had gone south pre-race but the horse was peaking, he was set for the race, this was the race that we wanted to win.
“He won on a slow track one day at Caulfield but we thought he was a bit lucky that day and with his leg speed and the sectional times that he can run we always thought he’d be a better dry-track horse but it’s nice to be wrong and I’m very happy about it.”
Still second-last at the 400m mark, The Quarterback ($7.50EF) sprinted so quickly down the outside rail that he had three-quarters of a length to spare at the finish over Wild Rain ($7.50EF) on the inside, with Office Bearer ($21) a further length away in third.
WATCH: Hear from Allen after the race