The Ron Stubbs-trained Sparring lives up to the hype with dominant debut victory at Albury

Wagga jockey Nick Heywood declared the sky is the limit after Sparring ($1.40) scored by six and a half lengths in The Essential Utensil Maiden Plate (900m).

The impressive debut win backed up an 11-length romp in an Albury trial last month.

Stubbs conceded it had been a nervous couple of weeks between the trial and debut.

"It's been a tough last two weekks," Stubbs revealed to Sky Racing.

"The expectation and you think you've got it but you don't know until you've done it. At least we've gone there and done that."

The interest had already arrived for the three-year-old Fighting Sun gelding after the trial win and the offers are expected to come thick and fast following the debut victory.

Stubbs shares in the ownership of Sparring with breeder Phil Tobin and is keen to continue racing the rising star for the moment with a Highway at Randwick on February 26 on his radar.

MORE SPORT NEWS

"We'll look for something a little bit harder (now)," Stubbs said.

"I know there's a 1000 metre Highway coming up in about a month's time I think. We'll see if we can find a nice fill in race in between."

Stubbs has trained many good horses over the years but rates Sparring among the more promising.

"I couldn't be happier with him," he said.

"What he's done with his trial and his race, he would be the most impressive horse in that manner but we'll just step him up and see what he can do."

Heywood rode Sparring in both the trial and his first race start and has a lot of time for the horse.

"Obviously the writing was on the wall the other day when he trialed. Even though there wasn't much behind him, it was the way he did it," Heywood explained.

"Today, he put himself in a position and he was never going to be beaten from about the 600.

"He's a good looking type. Your typical sprinter, really solid. Even in the parade ring today he was good, it was like he'd been here before. To back up his good trial, he did that today and the sky's the limit."

Heywood is no stranger to good horses, having spent the end of his apprenticeship with Peter and Paul Snowden in Sydney. He gave Sparring his approval.

"Obviously down here we sort of get the second stringers off the Sydney blokes but he might have a nice one on his hands," he said.

The Peter Maher-trained debutant Alembee ($26) was second, with Pretty Panda ($31) back in third.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: