Stable Tours: Lindsay Park 3-year-olds ready to chase classic glory

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Kicking off The Thoroughbred Report’s ‘Stable Tours’ series is Lindsay Park. We spoke with the operation’s racing manager, Dom Rhoden, to learn which young horses we should keep an eye on, as well as the plans for some established stable stars.

The generational operation, led by brothers Ben, Will, and JD Hayes, is based at Flemington, with an outstanding facility at Euroa and new Pakenham stables that opened in April this year.

With the newly minted 2-year-old generation, we asked which horses should be put in our ‘black books’. Rhoden commented, “It’s probably still a touch early to lock anything in. But we’ve got a nice Blue Point colt and a Street Boss colt, so they’ll be aimed at some early races.”

Interestingly, both 2-year-olds are currently unnamed and their dams, La Lucciola (Snitzel) and Latin Spirit (Not A Single Doubt), are half-sisters.

The Blue Point (Ire) colt is out of the La Lucciola, who was a two-time winner. Meanwhile, the Street Boss (USA) colt is out of her half-sister Latin Spirit. He was an $80,000 purchase by Lindsay Park Racing from this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

La Lucciola and Latin Spirit are both out of the Magic Albert mare Roma Giaconda, who was placed in the G1 VRC Oaks and the G2 Stan Fox S.

Strong hand in 3-year-old Classics?

Lindsay Park is aiming for a strong presence in the spring Classics for 3-year-olds, with the G1 Thousand Guineas and the G1 VRC Oaks outlined as potential targets for the progressive fillies Sneaky Sunrise (The Autumn Sun) and Jenni’s Meadow (Brutal {NZ}).

As a late 2-year-old, Sneaky Sunrise showed ability, winning twice at Flemington before placing in the Listed Taj Rossi S. behind her stablemate, Jenni’s Meadow. The daughter of Brutal (NZ) showed her toughness by winning on debut at Moonee Valley last December. She then contested the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic, continuing to improve as the distances increased.

“Sneaky Sunrise is back up and firing. She’s going to be ready to trial in September, and we’ll probably look at kicking her off in the Exford Plate at Flemington because she’s got a great record there,” Rhoden told TTR AusNZ.

“We’ll then let her tell us whether she’s better suited to staying at 1400 metres or stepping up to the mile in the Edward Manifold second-up. That will help us decide if she’s ready for races like the Ethereal or the Wakeful Stakes third-up.

“If we feel that distance is too far at this stage, we’ll consider bringing her back to the mile for the Thousand Guineas. We’re keeping the Oaks and Thousand Guineas dreams alive and will decide after two or three runs which direction she’s best suited for.”

Jenni’s Meadow will follow a similar path. “She’s also progressing well and is on a very similar timeframe to Sneaky Sunrise. We’ll likely kick her off in something like the Exford Plate or the Jim Maloney Stakes at Caulfield.

“She’s a filly who has shown great strength over the mile, and we view her as a potential Oaks filly. Ideally, we’d love to have her in the Wakeful Stakes on Derby Day, followed by the Oaks.”

Bastille with Moir aims

Last season, Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau) emerged as one of the toughest and most consistent 2-year-olds in training. She won four of her five starts, amassing over $650,000 in prizemoney. A winner of the R. Listed Inglis Banner at Moonee Valley, she wasn’t at her best when resuming in the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (Fillies), finishing behind the subsequent G1 Blue Diamond winner, Hayasugi (Royal Meeting {Ire}).

However, Bold Bastille quickly bounced back, securing victories in the Listed Festival S. at Flemington, the Listed Redoute’s Choice S. at Caulfield, and the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush at Bendigo.

Rhoden commented, “Bold Bastille is trialling very well. We’ve nominated her for the Quezette S. on Saturday, and we’ll review the acceptances for the race tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

“That said, we are probably leaning towards running her a week later against older horses in the Carlyon S. at Moonee Valley. She should get in with 50 and a half kilos. She’s got a great record at The Valley, having won the Inglis Banner there, and that would set her up nicely for the G1 Moir S. in a fortnight.

“Again, she’d get 50 kilos on her back. Those are likely her first two assignments for the spring, and we’ll assess her progress from there. But we’re very pleased with how she’s coming along.”

Under the radar

Rhoden highlighted that the once-raced Grammar Lad (Written Tycoon) could be a horse to follow this spring. He made an impressive debut at Pakenham, defeating the subsequent metropolitan winner and stakes performer Heinous (Brutal {NZ}).

“Grammar Lad is a 3-year-old who’s building up nicely and has flown under the radar a bit. He’s had one start for one win in May at Pakenham.

“We gave him a break, and he's coming to hand very well. Grammar Lad will trial on Friday, and he’ll be ready to go towards the end of the month or early September. We’re deciding whether to start him in a ratings race on a Wednesday or aim for something like the McNeil S., but he looks like a lovely horse. He could potentially be on a Caulfield Guineas path.”

Rhoden also mentioned two unraced 3-year-olds to keep an eye on. The first is Blue Moon Summit, a son of Blue Point (Ire) out of the Bel Esprit mare Humma Mumma. The colt is a half-brother to the G3 Proud Miss S. winner Humma Humma (Denman) and the Listed-placed Tycoon Humma (Capitalist).

The second is an unraced son of Too Darn Hot (GB) named Hot Majesty. He’s out of the Fastnet Rock mare Majesty and is a half-brother to the former Lindsay Park-trained Lady Of Honour (No Nay Never {USA}), who won the Listed Twilight Glow S. and the Listed Eye Liner S., and placed in the G2 Let’s Elope S. and the G2 WH Stocks S.

“There are a couple of unraced 3-year-olds showing promise,” Rhoden noted. “One called Blue Moon Summit is going well, and another, Hot Majesty, who’s a half to Lady Of Honour, is building up to the trial stage and should be ready to go in September.”

Cult horse ready to rumble

The popular Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) is gearing up for another spring preparation. Rhoden provided an update on the six-time Group 1 winner’s progress: “He’s going very well. We’re very happy with the way he’s building.

“He had a gallop this morning at The Valley, and he’ll trial again next Friday, which will have him spot-on to kick off in the G1 Memsie S. first-up.”

Poifect (Pierro), who won the Listed Adelaide Guineas, is also preparing for a return. “She’s up to the trial stage. She’s come back after a little freshen-up following her trip to Queensland. Poifect probably had enough by the time we got up there after racing in Adelaide as well. But she’s a lovely mare now, and she’ll be ready to go by mid-September.

“We’re targeting all the mares’ races, with the hope of lining up in the G1 Empire Rose S. during Cup week. We’ve also got Caste, who’s coming to hand very well after an injury setback. She’ll run first-up this Saturday in the Regal Roller.

“It will be her first run in almost 12 months, so it’ll be great to have her back at the races to blow the cobwebs out. That should hold her in good stead, and she’ll run through the Cockram or the Let’s Elope with an eye on the Group 1 mares’ races. She’s got Group 1 ability, so hopefully we can get her back to those heights.”

The promising Arkansaw Kid (Harry Angel {Ire}) is on track for a return, albeit with a new look. "He’s now a gelding and will also kick off on Saturday in the Regal Roller. He looks to have trained on extremely well.

“So, he should be in for a good campaign, whether at the sprint trips or if we aim for a race like the Sir Rupert Clarke S. It was also great to see Gentleman Roy back in form. Hopefully, we can get that elusive Group 1 with him, after being so close. Here To Shock is another one who has returned from Queensland and is going well. We’ll probably look at a Toorak H. path for him.”