Ike's Legacy confirmed a theory trainer David Vandyke has about what makes an elite racehorse when the richly bred two-year-old opened his career with a much anticipated Warwick Farm win on Wednesday.

Overcoming testing ground and proving Vandyke's mid-race pessimism to be misplaced, Ike's Legacy landed a late $2 to $1.80 betting move in the TAB iPad App Handicap (1300m).

While the victory only bolstered Vandyke's resolve to put Ike's Legacy on a course towards the $1 million Golden Rose, Vandyke conceded his plans might have looked a bit too ambitious at one stage of the race.

"The sign of a good horse is when you think one way about them and they prove to be something else and at the 500 (metres) I walked away and said `he's gone'," Vandyke said.

"I was thinking that I shouldn't have run him."

Ike's Legacy was able to regather his footing on the rain-affected track and surged to a clear-cut lead for Peter Robl when he flattened for the finish.

His winning margin was cut to a half-length as Stiff Thunder ($16) ran on from the back but that did nothing to diminish the merit in Ike's Legacy's victory.

"He didn't look comfortable in the going," Vandyke said.

"When I can say that and he's won at his first start, it's a pretty big effort."

Robl agreed that the colt, bred to be a stallion prospect as a son of Redoute's Choice from the stakes-winning racemare Ike's Dream, was unhappy in the going which was downgraded to heavy after rain before the meeting.

"He didn't handle the track but as he showed he didn't have to," Robl said.

Chris Waller had one winner as he closes in on a Sydney trainers' record.

Caesar's Princess took Waller to 149-1/2 Sydney winners for the season and he will be odds-on to post his 150th on his home track at Rosehill on Saturday with 16 acceptors for the meeting.

Waller needs seven more winners to break the record shared by Tommy Smith and his daughter Gai Waterhouse.

AAP TURF wb/