Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Race-Day Recap
Champion Trainer Chris Waller trained three winners in Sydney, including the ultra-impressive Gatsby’s (Snitzel) in the Listed The Rosebud.
Peter Snowden was impressed by the effort of Drifting in Saturday’s G3 Quezette S. and indicated there’s plenty of options for the daughter of Zousain in Melbourne and Sydney.
Blinkers on Band Of Brothers delivers former Spendthrift shuttler Omaha Beach (USA) with his first Australian stakes winner when taking out the Gr3 Vain Stakes on Saturday.
Exciting filly Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) made quite the impression on debut on Saturday, winning a BM72 at Rosehill with her trainer Chris Waller indicating the G1 Flight S. was a potential option.
So Naive (U S Navy Flag) won the G3 Northland Breeders’ S. on Saturday.
Kahlisee (Dracarys) was dominant winning at Doomben, providing her trainers Chris Munce and son Corey Munce with a maiden Saturday winner.
International sire New Bay was represented by his seventh Australian winner courtesy of his lightly raced son Kenmare Bay at Kembla Grange.
Gatsby’s in a different class
It was a stylish effort from the Chris Waller-trained Gatsby’s (Snitzel) in the Listed The Rosebud S. Ridden by Champion jockey James McDonald, it was just a matter of pressing the accelerator on the colt when he wanted him to go.
The effect was immediate. Gatsby’s quickly reeled in Astapor (Tassort), who held on for fourth. Clear Proof (Justify {USA}) and High Octane (Deep Field) also ran gallantly, both emerging from the pack to finish second and third, respectively.
Waller told Sky Racing, “This horse has a great future ahead. He showed a glimpse of what he had in the autumn, but we chose to back off and didn’t get too caught up in the carnival; we tested the water though.
“It’s made a man out of him. He’s come back bigger, stronger, and better. I think he’s primarily a sprinting 3-year-old, but his biggest asset is that he relaxes well. Our plan was to go forward, but you could see there was no gap there for us. So, James came back. Not many horses over 1100 metres can have a ‘plan B’ once they’ve charged and fired.
Gatsby's | Image courtesy of Inglis
“But Gatsby’s different; he’s got a brain and just really relaxes. He’s like a kid’s pony at this stage—all the staff love him, he’s a real teddy bear, but he can turn it on come raceday.”
He’s (Gatsby’s) come back bigger, stronger, and better. I think he’s primarily a sprinting 3-year-old, but his biggest asset is that he relaxes well.” - Chris Waller
Gatsby’s is the 146th stakes winner for the four-time Champion Sire Snitzel. He is out of the Forestry (USA) mare Miss Charming (USA) and is a full brother to the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (Fillies) winner Letzbeglam.
The colt was a $220,000 purchase by Aramco Racing from the draft of Vinery Stud at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Filly Drifts into Melbourne
Sydney-based filly Drifting (Zousain) showed that the Melbourne way of going was no cause for concern when she won the G3 Quezette S. on Saturday. Trained by Peter Snowden, the filly resumed at Caulfield with Blake Shinn in the saddle.
Shinn guided the daughter of Zousain to the front in the 1100-metre feature, with the only real challenge coming from the Tasmanian visitor Geegees Mistruths (Wordsmith). Kirribilli (Snitzel) finished third.
Snowden told 7Horseracing, “That’s exactly what I wanted to see. She’s talented—her first preparation saw her go from a maiden win at Hawkesbury to the Magic Night, and I could have run her in the Golden Slipper.
“I just like her attitude. She’s got fantastic gate speed, will settle underneath you at the pace you want, and gives a good kick. Those are great attributes to have, and 1200 metres won’t be an issue.
“There are plenty of races for her, and I’ll be very selective about where I run her. She’s building up nicely now, and I own a fair chunk of her. There are races in both Sydney and Melbourne, and she handles wet or dry conditions.”
“I just like her (Drifting) attitude. She’s got fantastic gate speed, will settle underneath you at the pace you want, and gives a good kick.” - Peter Snowden
Drifting, who had earlier claimed the G2 Magic Night S., is the best performer to date from Widden Stud’s second-season sire Zousain. She is the fourth foal from the Big Brown (USA) mare Backpacker Express and was a $160,000 purchase by William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA) and Snowden Racing from the draft of Murrulla Stud at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
First Australian stakes winner for Omaha Beach storms home
Veteran trainer Mathew Ellerton awarded former Spendthrift shuttler Omaha Beach (USA) with his first Australia stakes winner on Saturday, when Band Of Brothers landed the G3 Vain S. at Caulfield. Still recovering from suffering a stroke while on holiday, Ellerton watched at home as the gelding surged forward at the 200-metre mark and held off Letsfacethemusic (I Am Invincible) to score by 0.5l in the 1100-metre contest.
Damian Lane was on board for the win, crediting the application of blinkers for a sharp improvement in the gelding’s performance, following a last start third in a Caulfield 2YO H.
“The blinkers switched him on a bit,” Lane said post-race to Racing.com. “He was very hesitant to lead up last time and felt like he was going to pull up to a trot in the home straight. He had his ears pricked and was looking everywhere and I thought the blinkers would bring him on that little bit.
“He looked great in the race parade and that’s a credit to everyone back at the stable.”
Bred and raced by David Moodie’s Hesket Thoroughbreds, Band Of Brothers is the second foal out of the unraced Medaglia D’Oro (USA) mare Medgrinda, who is a daughter of four-time black type winning mare Kulgrinda (Exceed and Excel). Medgrinda produced a colt by Vino Rosso (USA) in 2022 and a filly by Gold Standard in 2023, and was not covered last season.
Band Of Brothers | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
A three-quarter sister to Vinery Stud’s Headwater, nine-time winner Kulgrinda has produced five winners from five runners to hit the track. Kulgrinda has an unnamed 2-year-old colt by Spirit Of Boom, purchased by Kendrick Racing for $37,500 at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, and is expecting another foal by the stallion in late spring. Shuttling from Kentucky to Australia in 2020 and 2021, Omaha Beach (USA) counts Band Of Brothers as his seventh stakes winner worldwide.
Autumn Glow makes winning debut
Champion Trainer Chris Waller appears to have another promising filly in his stable, as the beautifully bred Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) made a winning debut on Saturday at Rosehill. Ridden by Tyler Schiller, Autumn Glow came from midfield to overtake another blueblood, Dawn Service (Justify {USA}), a son of the triple Group 1-winner Sunlight (USA), and put 2.15l on that colt. Finishing third, over 4l behind, were Iron Hawk (Written Tycoon) and Getafix (Calyx {GB}).
Waller was full of praise for the filly, telling Sky Racing, “She’s something special. It’s a privilege to train these types of horses. She was obviously a high-class yearling by The Autumn Sun, who is a young sire, so it shows what type of horse Autumn Glow is.
“The Autumn Sun was obviously a special horse for us, and it’s great that Mr (John) Messara, Hermitage, and a few others have entrusted us to train her. She was entered to race last Wednesday on the Kensington track, but there was rain on the day, and I just wanted her to have the best possible experience. This track (Rosehill) is probably one of the best in the world.
“It gives horses a great experience. Good surface, lots of grass, and you need horses to have good experiences. Autumn Glow has had a good experience today (Saturday), and she’s on her way to bigger and better things.
“I’ll see how she pulls up because it’s her first preparation. I’d love to be able to get her to the G1 Flight S. if we can.”
“Autumn Glow has had a good experience today (Saturday), and she’s on her way to bigger and better things.” - Chris Waller
Autumn Glow is out of the Var (SAf) mare Via Africa (SAf), who was the Champion Sprinter in South Africa, winning 10 races, including the G1 Cape Flying Championship and the G1 Scottsville South African Fillies Sprint twice.
She is also the dam of In The Congo, who won the G1 Golden Rose and the G3 San Domenico S. Autumn Glow was a $600,000 pinhook by Silverdale Farm and Shrone Bloodstock from the 2022 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale.
She was later re-sold for $1.8 million to Arrowfield Pastoral and Hermitage Thoroughbreds at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
So Naive salutes for U S Navy Flag
Progressive colt So Naive (NZ) (U S Navy Flag {USA}) secured a thrilling victory in the G3 Northland Breeders’ S. on Saturday, edging out his stablemate Toruk Makto (NZ) (Eminent {Ire}) and bringing much joy to the Bruce Wallace and Grant Cooksley partnership.
After winning on debut at Pukekohe Park, once again beating his stablemate, So Naive added another success at Ellerslie as a 2-year-old. He was unplaced in the Listed Karaka Millions 2YO behind Velocious (Written Tycoon) before being sent for a spell.
“So Naive has grown and got a bit stronger, so the further he goes, the better he will get,” Cooksley told Lovehorseracing.nz. “Give him another six months and he will be even bigger and stronger, but so will the second horse, who went well too. It’s good to see the 2-year-olds come back as 3-year-olds, so hopefully they can keep going. I’m not sure where we will see them next, but we’ll work it out.”
So Naive (NZ) | Image courtesy of Therese Davis
So Naive is the third stakes winner for The Oaks Stud-based U S Navy Flag (USA). The colt is out of the Bernardini (USA) mare Altai Rose (NZ), who was fourth in the Listed Star Way S. So Naive was a NZ$37,500 purchase by Wallace Thoroughbreds from the draft of Kilgravin Lodge at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale.
Father and son score first Saturday winner
Kahlisee (Dracarys) provided the newly formed training partnership of Chris Munce and his son Corey with their first Saturday winner, just 17 days into the new season. The lightly raced 3-year-old filly, ridden by Samantha Collett, kept up to the task over 1100 metres.
The filly continued to respond well and secured a 3.51l victory over Mishy (The Mission), with third-placed Wynette (Lonhro) finishing over 7l away. The hot favourite, Barbie’s Sister (Spirit Of Boom), hasn’t returned to her best form and could only manage fourth, finishing more than 12l behind.
Kahlisee is the first foal from the All Too Hard mare Woolsey, who won three races. She was a $45,000 purchase by Munce Racing from Oakwood Farm at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale.
Her sire, Dracarys, a son of Snitzel, won the G3 Up and Coming S. and stands at Oakwood Farm in Queensland.
Australian Winner for New Bay
Ballylinch Stud’s New Bay (GB) sired his seventh Australian winner when the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Kenmare Bay claimed victory over a mile at Kembla Grange.
After finishing fifth on debut over 1200 metres at Newcastle in July, Kenmare Bay showed improvement by finishing third over 1400 metres earlier in August, before stepping up to win over the mile on Saturday. Ridden by Sam Clipperton, Kenmare Bay narrowly defeated Sunshine Law (Alabama Express), with the third-placed King Of Thunder (NZ) (Tivaci) finishing 1.2l behind.
Kenmare Bay is out of the unraced Nathaniel (Ire) mare Anyana (GB), who is also the dam of Shelby (Fr) (Reliable Man {GB}), a winner of three races over distances ranging from 2200 to 3200 metres. The gelding was a $75,000 purchase by John O’Shea Racing and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) from the Vinery Stud draft at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
