Plenty for the racing enthusiast to enjoy this weekend, with seven stakes races at Caulfield on Saturday highlighted by the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes with the juveniles continuing their quest for the Blue Diamond in the divisions of the Blue Diamond Prelude, while up at Warwick Farm the babies will battle it out in the $2million Inglis Millennium and the Listed Lonhro Plate.
Judging on her last start 6-lengths romp on a heavy track at Rosehill, Cellsabeel’s connections will be happy to hear the patter of rain in Sydney. She is one of two in the race by Yarraman Park Stud’s sadly missed Fastnet Rock stallion, Hinchinbrook.
Sons of Fastnet Rock will have a big say in the Millennium with Bull Point having two runners while Valencia and Foxwedge have one each.
We will put our faith in the grand old man himself when his daughter Fresh looks to go one better than her second to A Beautiful Night in the Group III Blue Diamond Preview when she tackles that filly again in the $200,000 Group II MRC Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained filly did not shirk her task in the closing stages despite a wide run and was beaten less than half a length.
The daughter of Fastnet Rock could not have been any more impressive at her career debut at Geelong on January 2 when defeating another daughter of Fastnet Rock, the $640,000 purchase Personal, by three lengths.
Personal franked that form at her next start with an impressive win at Flemington.
Fresh was a $380,000 purchase by Yulong Investments from the Baramul Stud draft at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
She is the fifth foal and fourth winner out of the stakes-placed Savabeel mare Mother’s Milk who Baramul acquired for $60,000 at the 2014 Patinack Farm dispersal.
Bred by the Bax family, Mother’s Milk had been purchased by Patinack for $180,000 as a yearling.
A brother to Fresh was purchased by Almighty Racing/Dynamic Syndications/Dean Watt Bloodstock (FBAA) for $350,000 at this year’s Gold Coast Sale.
After foaling a Zoustar filly last November, Mother’s Milk was bred back to I Am Invincible.
The daughter of Savabeel is out of the O’Reilly mare Baileys On Ice. A 3-time winner, Baily’s On Ice was stakes-placed 4-times including seconds in the Group III CJC Easter Cup and the Group III Manawatu RC Eulogy Stakes.
She is a sister to the quirky Swick, who loved the ‘straight six’ at Flemington. He had his day in the sun in the 2008 Group I Patinack Farm V.R.C. Classic. The Bart Cummings-trained gelding defeated Turffontein, who was trained by Bart’s son Anthony with the crowd favourite Apache Cat unplaced.
The dam of Bailey’s On Ice and Swick, the Listed STC Sky High Stakes runner-up Creme Anglaise (Crested Wave), is a half-sister to the Group 1 WATC West. Australian Oaks winner Cologne (Sound Reason).
A sister to Swick and Baily’s On Ice, Burwood Road, is the dam of the stakes-placegetters Pins On Parade (Pins) and Dower (Pins).
The latter is the dam of Savabeel’s Listed ARC Champagne Stakes winner and Group 1 VRC Oaks runner-up Dowager Queen who shares a paddock at Baramul with her paternal half-sister Mother’s Milk.
Gerry Harvey must like the Savabeel – Fastnet Rock cross as Dowager Queen visited the Coolmore legend in 2016 to produce the current smart two-year-old Queen Of Rocks. The Lindsay Park-trained filly was third on debut behind Tanker and Euphoric Summer in the Listed Debutant Stakes at Caulfield last October and was third when resuming at Flemington on January 21 in a race won by Phoenix Thoroughbred’s impressive Pride Of Dubai filly Sense Of Honour.
