SALSA has rocketed into clear favouritism for the Eric Thomson Memorial Final after a commanding performance in the opening heat at Q1 Lakeside.
The Greg Stella-trained youngster, sent out a heavily backed $1.30 favourite, delivered exactly as punters expected, and then some.
Jumping cleanly from the white box, the Zack Monelli x Shishkin bitch exploded to the front, controlled the race through the bend and powered away to score by a length and a half, maintaining her perfect record with three wins from three starts.
Trainer Greg Stella made it clear pre-race he believes the best is still to come.
While Salsa stole the spotlight, the remaining heats produced a mix of dominance and drama.
Mystic Bloom ($1.40), trained by Selena Zammit, was equally impressive in heat two, and eat three delivered the upset of the night.
All eyes were on Wizard Said ($1.35) following a dazzling debut win, but Grace Ille ($18) turned the script on its head.
Favourite Terra Bella ($1.70) held firm under pressure in the fourth heat, fending off a late challenge from To Xibalba in a tight finish, while Living Legend ($2.70) produced a strong finishing burst in the final heat to run down Mcluggage in the home straight.
