The Listed MRC Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) at Caulfield on Australia Day delivered the perfect result for the Newgate / China Horse Club and partners with their expensive colts High Octane and Holmes a Court running the quinella on debut.
Both colts are prepared by Peter and Paul Snowden and had shown nice ability in Sydney trials before heading to Melbourne and ran right up to expectation.
Purchased for $1,050,000 from the Segenhoe draft at Inglis Easter by China Horse Club / Newgate / Go Bloodstock / Trilogy, High Octane has the distinction of being the highest priced yearling by Deep Field ever sold and was sent out favourite on the strength of his encouraging trial win at Canterbury last month.
Ridden by Mark Zahra, High Octane loomed into contention with a furlong to run and despite racing a little greenly was too good for his stablemate Holmes a Court, defeating the Capitalist colt by three-quarters of a length. They clocked 57.94 which was marginally quicker that the fillies division won by Hayasugi.
Mark Zahra rode High Octane in his Sydney trial and was thrilled with the improvement he had made since then.
“He’s a beautiful horse to ride, obviously an expensive colt so you’d expect that, but he just cantered around to the gates perfect and stood in there well. He improved heaps from the other day and will improve a heap again after today,” Zahra said.
“In the trial I was back chasing, but with the he improvement in the past 17 days I was able to bounce straight into a spot and he travelled like a winner all the way. He was a little bit wayward when he came off the bridle, but he got it done.”
Peter Snowden was happy with both High Octane and Holmes a Court, who will both progress towards the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) next month.
“They both went terrific and there is not a lot between them in their work at home,” said Snowden.
“They’ll both follow a traditional path to the Blue Diamond running in the Prelude in two weeks time and then from there hopefully to the Diamond (G1) if their run says they are good enough.”
High Octane was bred by Segenhoe and is the second foal of stakes-winning Not a Single Doubt mare Granny Red Shoes, a daughter of stakes-winner Shoboard from the family of Group I winner Star Satire and this season’s Group I placed three year-old I Am Unstoppable.
The third foal of Granny Red Shoes is a colt by Zoustar that will be offered by Segenhoe at Inglis Easter as Lot 51. She has a colt by Capitalist to follow and is in foal to Dundeel.
High Octane is the 27th stakes-winner for Newgate Farm’s now retired sire Deep Field.
