This blueblood three year-old filly by champion sire I am Invincible cast off maiden status with a commanding win at Randwick on Wednesday at just her second start.
Trained by Michael Freedman, Ballet D’Esprit is a half-sister to dual Group I winning sire Russian Revolution and three-quarter sister-in-blood to dual Group I winning champion 3YO Colt Home Affairs.
If she had been offered at auction Ballet D’Esprit would have been a million dollar filly every day of the week, but she was bred and retained to race by Mrs Belinda Bateman, who looks to have a very nice filly on her hands.
Third on debut at Wyong earlier this month, she took good benefit from that outing and led all the way for Keagan Latham to win the 1000m maiden by a couple of lengths.
Latham has ridden the filly in each of her starts and in three of her four previous trials so knows the flighty filly very well and has been a big part of her progress.
“I’ve always liked her, but I think her biggest battle has been upstairs,” he said
“She’s always been a bit difficult, but showed that good ability. She was unlucky the other day at Wyong, she got shunted wide around the bend and lost her momentum, but today showed she’s really starting to mature. She jumped and showed her abundance of speed and got a couple of easy sectionals and went on to do the job.
“Hopefully when she beings to accept racing she will have a nice future.”
Ballet D’Esprit was foaled and raised at Newgate for Mrs Bateman and is the seventh winner from eight foals to race from Ballet D’Amour (USA), the dam of dual Group I winner Russian Revolution, Group III winner Turbo Miss and the dam of dual Group I winner Home Affairs and stakes-winner Aysar.
Ballet D’Amour was sourced for Mrs Bateman by James Harron Bloodstock and has a two year-old colt by Snitzel that was sold through the Newgate draft at Inglis Easter last year for $1.4million to the James Harron Bloodstock Colts Partnership.
A full brother to Russian Revolution, he is named Everybody Rise and has had one start for the Peter and Paul Snowden stable finishing third to Spywire in a maiden at Rosehill last November.
Ballet D’Amour sadly passed away in 2023 and her final foal is an I Am Invincible filly born last spring.
