Turn Me Loose filly impresses with debut victory

Media Release - Sunday February 20

A gritty victory by two-year-old filly Lickety Split at her first raceday start at Ellerslie has given her sire Turn Me Loose a timely boost ahead of the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka.

Lickety Split wins on debut at Ellerslie Photo Credit: Trish Dunell

The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained youngster followed up an impressive trial win at Ellerslie late last month with a similar performance on Saturday as she overhauled pacemaker Slipper Island in the final stages after the pair had gone head-to-head over the final 400m.

The well-proportioned filly looks a likely three-year-old type for next season, an opinion shared by co-trainer Forsman who was pleased to see her pick up the victory at just her first start.

“She has a bit of scope about her and to see the way she knuckled down and fought so hard after just the one trial was very heartening,” Forsman said.

“She did most things right, which was also good to see and I liked the way she found the line so strongly over the last little bit.

“She is a filly we think can go on with it next season now she has had a taste of what the racing game is all about.

“We’re not sure what we are going to do next with her, but I’m hoping we can get one or two more starts before we put her away for the winter.”

An interested observer was Windsor Park Stud Master Rodney Schick who stands Turn Me Loose at his Kaipaki property in Cambridge.

Windsor Park will offer a total of 14 individuals by Turn Me Loose across the Book 1 and 2 sessions at Karaka and the win, combined with a tenacious performance by three-year-old filly Ancient Girl, who went down narrowly in the Gr.3 The Vanity (1400m) at Flemington later in the day, a perfect advertisement for their resident son of Iffraaj.

“That was a great win by Lickety Split and there is a really neat story around her,” Schick said.

“She was bred by Dean Hawkins and Nick Hewson, who both worked for me when they were starting out.

“While Dean and his brothers and family established Wentwood Grange, Nick went off playing rugby overseas for 15 years, but he came back a couple of years ago and is back working for me again.

“Dean and Nick got some mates together to race Lickety Split so it is just great they could have such a good win first up with her.

“It is also perfect timing for Turn Me Loose who went pretty close to getting his second stakes winner with Ancient Girl, who went a cracker of a race at Flemington.

“Funnily enough she was bred by Dave Morris and Jason Thomasen, who also worked for me, so there is quite a tie in there.”

Advertisement

Schick is bullish about prospects for the success of this year’s sale at Karaka, with a good-sized draft of 45 yearlings to be presented from Windsor Park Stud, featuring a wide cross-section of stallions that he believes will appeal to the buying bench.

“We have some lovely horses to sell right across our draft,” Schick said.

“Turn Me Loose has a cracking filly in Lot 26 from the good mare Trepidation, who has already produced a winner in the two-year-old full sister named Wessex who won on debut.

“Lot 540 is a Turn Me Loose colt out of Rolling In Thedeep and is from a wonderful family while Lot 246 is out of Fastnet Rose and from the family of Stradbroke Handicap (Gr.1, 1400m) winner Trekking.

“They are both beautiful, athletic colts with the looks to match.

“We also have stunning individuals by Shamexpress, Ocean Park, Almanzor and Charm Spirit to name just a few off the top of my head.

“I think the best thing about our draft is the variety you can find in it.

“New Zealand bred horses have had another outstanding season in our major markets like Australia and Asia and I would like to think that will be evident when the bidding starts.”

Like other vendors, Schick would love to have seen the borders open to welcome international buyers and visitors to the sale but is still confident that the sale will deliver without them physically in attendance.

“It’s certainly not ideal that we can’t have our international friends on the ground at Karaka, but it is a different ball game to what it was when COVID first struck,” he said.

“People are far more attuned to buying online now and we have the material and procedures in place to get them the information they need.

“We’ve seen the yearling sales so far in Australia be extremely strong and I have no reason to think it will be any different at Karaka this year.”

The National Yearling Sale will commence at 11am on March 7 and run until March 12. – NZ Racing Desk

Advertisment

Race Result - Thomsons Foodservice Mdn 1100m

Ellerslie Track: Dead(6) Time: 1:04.69
1
Lickety Split
- 2f Turn Me Loose (NZ) x She's Slinky (NZ) (Handsome Ransom (AUS))
Tnr: M Baker & A Forsman Rdr: M Cameron 55.5
2
0.2
Slipper Island
- 2c No Nay Never (USA) x Pedicel (AUS) (Redoute's Choice (AUS))
Tnr: A W Pike Rdr: L G Innes 57.5
3
5.7
Coppers
- 2g Derryn (AUS) x Coimbra (AUS) (Mossman (AUS))
Tnr: B Wallace & G Cooksley Rdr: M Hashizume 55.5
4
5.9
Texas
- 2g Rubick (AUS) x Testadrop (AUS) (Testa Rossa (AUS))
Tnr: N P Bishara Rdr: T L Newman 57.5
5
6.2
Timeless
- 2f Time Test (GB) x Avoid (NZ) (Cullen (AUS))
Tnr: S Ralph Rdr: T D Thornton 55.5
6
7.5
Molly Shaw
- 2f Burgundy (NZ) x Belorussiya (NZ) (Mr Nancho (ARG))
Tnr: J W Richards Rdr: J Kamaruddin 53.5
7
10.3
Iff I Get Paaid
- 2f Iffraaj (GB) x Vernal (AUS) (Bernardini (USA))
Tnr: J W Richards Rdr: O P Bosson 55.5
8
44.7
Tiddilywinx
- 2f Charm Spirit (IRE) x Catch Your Idol (NZ) (Zabeel (NZ))
Tnr: Debbie Sweeney Rdr: L H Satherley 55.5
More Reading...
Castelvecchio Filly Records Promising Victory
Having placed in her first two starts, the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman trained Street Lark (Castelvecchio) appeared to appreciate the step up to the 1500m of Wednesday’s Sportsbet Get On Extra Plate at Caulfield to break her maiden with a promising performance..
Westbury Stud Announce 2025 Fees
Westbury Stud is pleased to announce the 2025 service fees for its high performing stallion roster, providing breeders with an accessible source of proven bloodlines at excellent value.
Growing Empire Retires to Yulong and Fee Set
One of the most exciting colts of his generation, Growing Empire, will join Yulong Stud’s stallion roster for the 2025 breeding season.
One to Watch – Kembla
Group I ATC Champagne Stakes winner Nepotism is not the only talented two year-old winner by Brutal this season that was bred and sold by Gilgai Farm.
Cambridge Stud Welcome Hello Youmzain First NZ bred SW
Lucy In The Sky delivered a memorable result on multiple fronts with her historic success at Riccarton.
Rising Stars - Metro 2YO Double for Wootton Bassett
Coolmore shuttler Wootton Bassett (GB) unleashed not one but two exciting juveniles at Warwick Farm on Wednesday with the opening race going to the colt Regulated Affair and shortly after it was the turn of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained filly Agarwood.
Million Dollar Goal for I Am Invincible Filly
Tony and Calvin McEvoy landed a lucrative victory in the $1million Magic Millions National 2YO Classic in May last year with Arabian Summer and are hopeful they have another filly that can do the job this year in Sisstainable.
French Derby Contender for Godolphin
The Godolphin winning run continued in France overnight with a French Derby contender emerging in the shape of progressive Lope de Vega colt Cualificar, who is out of Fastnet Rock’s Group I Epsom Oaks winner Qualify.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday May 6
Here is the full list of 30 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Records Tumble at Huge Australian Weanling Sale
The most successful Inglis Australian Weanling Sale in history concluded at Riverside today with a record individual top price of $775,000 paid for a colt by Too Darn Hot (GB), a record gross and record average.