Spring racing is just around the corner and a busy set of trials at Randwick on Friday featured eight heats won by juveniles with winners including stakes horses The Playwright and Cobra Club as well as unraced youngsters by Justify (USA), I Am Invincible and Flying Artie.
Written By filly The Playwright was a quiet achiever in the Waterhouse Bott stable earlier this year winning the Group III ATC Widden Stakes and running a super brave fourth in the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes before spelling and when you go back through her form you can see why she is deserving of respect.
She looked sharp and professional here in her first trial back winning by more than a length and we’re also interested in fourth placed Autumn Blond with the baldy face, who was ridden very quietly by Molly Bourke. She showed good form in some tough races and won’t be a maiden for long.
Also from the Waterhouse Bott stable, Cool Aza Beel colt Cobra Club is another promising stakes-placed maiden looking to take the quantum leap and looks to have come back well and runner-up Artistic Venture has a similar profile with good form in hard races albeit still a maiden.
First look at the Justify (USA) filly Love Story and this Waterhouse Bott trained youngster was well drilled and flew the gates to lead all the way and win by a couple of lengths.
She’s a homebred for Coolmore and is from the 2013 NZB Filly of the Year Fix (NZ), a multiple Group winner by Wootton Bassett’s sire Iffraaj that was bought by Tom Magnier for $1.25million at the 2015 MM National Broodmare Sale.
Fix was sent to stud in Ireland and produced three winners by Galileo including Group placed Know Thyself before returning to Australia in foal to Frankel and the result of that mating is three year-old gelding Viktor, who is also now a winner.
Fix has a yearling filly by home Affairs and produced a colt by Justify last year before unfortunately missing to Shinzo.
Couple of bluebloods running the quinella here with Rajwa, the half-sister by I Am Invincible to Manaal, winning the heat over Decorum, the full brother to Switzerland, and both are trained by Michael Freedman
First trial this prep for Rajwa after two previous back in March and first ever look at Decorum, who was back and wide and looked a bit clueless in the run, but got the message late with his best work to the line, so keen to have another look at him over something longer than the 740m scamper.
A $550,000 Inglis Easter purchase, Decorum runs for TFI, Arrowfield and partners and is the second foal of imported Group winner Ms Bad Behavior (Can), whose first foal Switzerland sold for $1.5million and her third, another colt by Snitzel sold for $2.7million this year.
Interesting… he’s the pauper of the trio in terms of yearling price which means he is either not as good a type as his more handsome brothers or he had an issue, either way Decorum is going to be an intriguing prospect to follow.
The heat winner Rajwa is an Emirates Park homebred and is also from a stakes-winning import in Red Lodge (USA), who has had three foals to race all winners headed by Group I ATC Sires Produce winner Manaal.
Running the quickest time for the 740m heats was another Michael Freedman trained runner in Flying Artie gelding Daring Fellow, who did everything right and won easily held together.
An $80,000 Inglis HTBA Yearling purchase, Daring Fellow is not dissimilar to his sire in type and given he was the Champion 3YO sprinter of his generation this has to be a good thing.
He is a half-brother to a couple of metro winners from a half-sister by Fastnet Rock to triple G1 winning Hong Kong sprinter Mr Stunning so has some pedigree to back him up and today was certainly encouraging.
Additional winners were: Valedictorian (Zoustar), Military Legend (Russian Revolution), Koibito (Satono Aladdin (Jpn).
Click here for all the trial results at Breednet with Sale Mail and at Racing NSW with video.
