STABLE CHANGE FOR FINANCE TYCOON

This year's VOBIS Showdown winner Finance Tycoon has joined Danny O'Brien ahead of the new season.

O'Brien confirmed to Racing.com on Thursday that Finance Tycoon arrived in his care on Wednesday at the request of his Hong Kong-based ownership group, led by managing owner Kaiser Chan.

Finance Tycoon is the latest high-profile horse to depart Lindsay Park's new training partnership of Ben and JD Hayes.

Last year's G1 Australian Cup (2000m) winner Fifty Stars will maintain his affiliation with former Lindsay Park senior training partner Tom Dabernig while G3 South Australian Sires' Produce (1400m) winner Biscayne Bay has joined Ciaron Maher and David Eustace after Australian Bloodstock purchased the filly from Sun Bloodstock.

Finance Tycoon was purchased for $150,000 from last year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale by McKeever Bloodstock on behalf of Chan and won three of six two-year-old starts for Ben Hayes and Dabernig.

The son of Written Tycoon was runner-up in Victoria's first two-year-old race of the season over 900 metres at Flemington on September 23 before winning the G3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) on November 3.

Finance Tycoon then won the $250,000 Aquis Gold Nugget (1100m) at the Gold Coast on January 9, a week before his creditable sixth from the outside barrier in the $2m Magic Millions Classic (1200m), which was won by Gold Nugget runner-up Shaquero.

His toughness was displayed when he finished fourth, best of the on-pacers, in the $1m G1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) on February 20, with the race won by the swooping Artorius. His consistency throughout the season was duly rewarded with a thumping 4.5-length win in the $1m Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield on April 17.

Finance Tycoon's winning time of 1:08.91 in the Showdown was the third-quickest by a two-year-old over the track and distance since August 2007, with only Sepoy (1:08.55) and Tagaloa (1:08.56) running faster when they each won the Blue Diamond.

By Carl Di Iorio for Racing.com

Pic by Racing Pics