By Bren O'Brien
Promising 2-year-old The Drinks Cart looks poised to get a chance to emulate his sire Unencumbered and try and win January's Magic Millions 2YO Classic after the one-time $2000 yearling debuted with an impressive win at the Gold Coast.
The Trent and Toby Edmonds-trained colt tumbled from $51 into $11 in Magic Millions betting off the back of the 1.25l win over the 900 metres, finishing over the top of Kavak (Deep Field) and Hamilton Hill (Rich Enuff).
Trent Edmonds said The Drinks Cart had defied his modest pricetag from the time he arrived in the stable and had not put a foot wrong in his first preparation.
"He's a pretty sharp horse, from precocious parents and he's just done everything right. He keeps blossoming," he said.
"The last month he's been faultless, he had a really nice educational trial. It was perfect today, he's done everything right and has won with a fair bit in hand."
As hinted at by his trainer, The Drinks Cart is bred to be a sharp 2-year-old, being by a Magic Millions winner and out of Snipzu (Snippetson), who was placed in a Listed Gimcrack S. on debut and won two 2-year-old races before Christmas and another two later in the season. She also contested the Magic Millions, finishing ninth behind Driefontein (Fastnet Rock) in 2012 and was placed on two other occasions at stakes level.
Trent and Toby Edmonds
Edmonds revealed bad x-rays were the reason The Drinks Cart was such a cheap purchase at the Magic Millions National Sale.
"He had bad x-rays at the June sale, so that was in June, and it is now in November, and he's already a 2-year-old winner," he said.
Jockey Ryan Maloney sat The Drinks Cart off a strong pace and brought him with a good late run in what was a perfect debut.
"We were thinking of scratching him and running him on Saturday in the 1050 metres race at Doomben but you can't really give away a good barrier. If you scratched here and drew a bad barrier at Doomben, you’d look like a dill. He's a horse with good ability with quite a bit of upside," Edmonds said.
"If you scratched here and drew a bad barrier at Doomben, you’d look like a dill." - Trent Edmonds
"He's always shown us a bit and been quite effortless to date. There's a fair bit left in the tank, we are never hard on our horses and this guy has had one trial and one race and never been let off the bridle."
Edmonds said the Listed Phelan Ready S. at Doomben on December 13 was the likely next assignment for The Drinks Cart, with a view towards the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in January.
"We'll just see how he is the next couple of days and go from there. I never thought he'd be a brilliant 900-metre speedball, so to see him relax in behind them was lovely and so when he steps out over further, he’ll be a really nice horse."
Blueblood fillies double up at Warwick Farm
At Warwick Farm, a second win from six starts has co-trainer Adrian Bott thinking about the G1 ATC Oaks with regally bred 3-year-old Dorothy Of Oz (Redoute's Choice).
The filly broke her maiden at Hawkesbury over 1100 metres late last month and stepping up to the 1600 metres for the first time, led all the way under Tim Clark to defeat the highly regarded Starla (Snitzel).
Being out of four-time Group 1 winner Princess Coup (Encosta de Lago), who won a G1 New Zealand Oaks herself, Bott said Dorothy Of Oz would likely head to the paddock now and be set for bigger and longer races in the autumn.
The filly is bred by Bott's father Tony, who runs Evergreen Stud.
It was a good day for 3-year-old fillies out of Group 1 winning mares, with Saas Fee (All Too Hard) breaking her maiden in a 1300 metre race.
Saas Fee, who is out of G1 Lightning S. winner Snitzerland (Snitzel), was having her second start and charged late under James McDonald to record a narrow victory.
Trainer Gerald Ryan expects her to live up to stakes company or better in the coming months.
