Weekend Preview: Oaks pitstop for Too Darn Lizzie en route to Chairman's Sale

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Too Darn Lizzie aiming for pre-Chairman’s pedigree boost in Oaks

The Inglis Chairman’s Sale is right around the corner, and Group 1-performed filly Too Darn Lizzie (Too Darn Hot {GB}) has headed south to Morphettville in an attempt to add one more piece of black-type to her page in the G1 Australasian Oaks before she walks through the ring. Catalogued as Lot 17, the 3-year-old daughter of G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (fillies) winner Enbihaar (Magnus) already has a Group 2 win to her name and several Group placings, but a top flight win would be the cherry on top.

It would also be a cherry for her dam Enbihaar, who is offered as Lot 55 in the sale as part of owner-breeder Dorrington Farm’s stud dispersal. Herself a full sister to Listed Debutant Stakes winner Miss Celine, Enbihaar is offered in foal to Zoustar; mother and daughter each present the “full package” as far as purchasing a mare can go.

The conqueror Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express), whom Too Darn Lizzie has run placings behind, will not travel south for the event, leaving the daughter of Too Darn Hot (GB) to be the top seed over Benagil (Manhattan Rain), who ran second in the G1 Vinery Stud Stakes to Treasurethe Moment last start.

Tulloch Lodge stable representative Annabelle Adams, who has also accompanied fellow Oaks hopeful Phenom (Zoustar) south, was pleased with how the filly made the trip down; “She arrived on Thursday, she did a good piece of work with Blake (Shinn) in Melbourne on the Tuesday beforehand. He was really impressed with her. She had a pretty firm trial before that as well, and she looks like she'll step out to the 2000 metres nicely."

Too Darn Lizzie and Phenom came through the G3 Alexandra Stakes together, which was won by Cilacap (Written Tycoon), who is also absent this weekend, having headed to the spelling paddock after the G3 Easter Cup. The main threats in the Oaks field come from Listed Tasmanian Oaks victress Cinch (Dundeel {NZ}), who has won her last three starts, and G1 NZ 1000 Guineas-placed Movin Out (NZ) (Staphanos {Jpn}), who roared from near last to win her most recent start by 2.5l.

This will likely be Too Darn Lizzie’s final run before the Chairman’s sale on May 8.

Waterhouse hoping for historic Hong Kong Champions Day

Gai Waterhouse is no stranger to breaking barriers and smashing records, and Sunday beckons with another opportunity to be the first woman to do something - this time, it’s over in Hong Kong. If Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) can fire in the G1 Champions Mile, Waterhouse will be the first woman to train a winner in Hong Kong. Full stop!

Only 14 female trainers have ever taken a horse to Hong Kong in their own name, and Waterhouse has ventured to Hong Kong before; she took both Few Are Chosen (Family Ties {USA}) and All Our Mob (What A Guest {Ire}) across in 1996, in the fledgling stage of her training career, and both ran gallant fifths in their respective events. Grand Armee (Hennessy {USA}) attempted a raid for her in 2005, but could not replicate his Australian form.

There have been others since, but Tulloch Lodge has kept their sights firmly on dominating Australian racing since. Royal Patronage’s trip will mark the first overseas venture for Waterhouse (not counting New Zealand) in a decade.

“I think we're coming off the back of the right races and no doubt bring the right form, we've got the right horse,” Waterhouse’s co-trainer Adrian Bott has been handling the media and spoke to RSN about Royal Patronage on Thursday. “If he can produce that (form) here, that'll see him being very competitive.”

On racing abroad, he said, “it's exciting. It's something we obviously want to be able to do more of, so I've learnt plenty already, just in the short period of time that we've been here.

“We'll continue to always explore those options, we want to make it more of a regular thing, if possible.”

Perhaps it will be all the more of an appealing option if Royal Patronage can deliver Waterhouse a truly landmark victory.

Royal Patronage has drawn barrier three with Tim Clark engaged to ride, and meets the rest of the 13-horse field on equal weights; he carried the same as Stefi Magnetica (All Too Hard) in the G1 Doncaster Mile where he was beaten just 0.14l last start, whereas his G1 Canterbury Stakes victory came at set weights.

The occasion is also very exciting for the Australian Chinese Jockey Club, who are part of the gelding's ownership; founder Teresa Poon and many of the Club's members are Hong Kong Chinese. The Club and Poon have a long history with Waterhouse, with Poon having sold Pierro as a yearling to Waterhouse from her Musk Creek Farm draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

The son of Wootton Bassett (GB) isn’t the only Australasian raider in the Champions Mile; nine-time Group 1 winner Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) aims to make it 10 wins at the highest level in the event. Stephen Marsh's El Vencedor (NZ) (Shocking) will also represent New Zealand in the G1 QEII Cup on the same card, and New Zealand-bred Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) takes a swing at another top flight win in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

Sangster is Asfoora’s last stepping stone before Ascot trip

Royal Ascot victress Asfoora (Flying Artie) has already booked her ticket back to Europe’s biggest racing carnival - flying out in early May - but she makes a last stop on her pre-flight tour this Saturday with a tilt at the G1 Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville.

Before her most recent start - victory in the G3 RN Irwin Stakes - the 6-year-old had never raced in South Australia, but the biggest query for trainer Henry Dwyer has always been the distance; when speaking to The Thoroughbred Report after her Irwin win, he commented that the 1200 metres of the Sangster was possibly a step too far, but that there wasn’t really any other options for a mare of Asfoora’s calibre.

That had been the prompt to go north; the presence of more suitably 1100-metre and under sprints for the mare was the greatest allure of Royal Ascot and the lead-up races.

Speaking to Racing.com this week, Dwyer said, “the 1100 metres is the exact sweet spot for her. She can win over 1000 metres, but (over) 1100 metres, her record is pretty dynamic. She just takes those fairy steps at the end of 1200 metres.

“if she’s ever going to (win a 1200-metre Group 1), this’ll be it.”

The distance has caught the mare out before; she was third in the G3 Kevin Hayes Stakes as a 3-year-old after leading early, and fourth in the inaugural $4 million The Quokka by 0.87l over the same trip. Drawing barrier 14 is also a “sub-optimal outcome”, as Dwyer put it in an update video on the platform X.

“They tell me all the Sangster winners come out wide,” he added. “Morphettville is not a bad track to sit three wide. It’s like Caulfield, they get plenty of use out of the straight. I’m not overly concerned with it, but need to make sure she doesn’t do any work in the first half of the race so she can get the second half right.”

The 2024 winner of the event, Climbing Star (NZ) (Zoustar) returns to reclaim her crown; she hasn’t won since last April, but she loomed large in the dying strides of the Irwin last start to finish third, suggesting another 100 metres would have gotten her in front. Morphettville local and second seed Stretan Angel (Harry Angel {Ire}) has been most dynamite this preparation over the 1000 metres in the G1 Lightning Handicap.

First season sires to butt heads in Breeders' Stakes

As the end of the racing season draws ever closer, the race is on for the title of Champion First Season Sire. Vinery Stud’s Ole Kirk has currently locked horns with Kia Ora Stud’s Farnan at the top of the charts, and the former has a serious opportunity to one up his Hunter Valley neighbour in the G3 SAJC Breeders’ Stakes at Morphettville.

Two runners line up for Ole Kirk in the race; Stuart Gower’s Kelorik aims to break his maiden in the event, and Robbie Griffiths-trained gelding Legacy Bound, owned by Vinery themselves, bids to make his record two from two.

They are not the only first season sires represented in the 1200-metre juvenile dash; six members of the 11-horse field are by stallions with their first 2-year-olds on the track. Unraced filly Obucci (Hanseatic), trained by Phillip Stokes, was the winner of her latest trial over Listed Cinderella Stakes placegetter Steep Trap (King’s Legacy), who also lines up in the event.

Anders filly Frothy Macaw starts for Matthew Seyers, having been an electric winner at Morphettville Parks in March, and Petit Artiste (Earthlight {Ire}), the first Southern Hemisphere winner for her former shuttler sire, has been set on this path by trainers Amy and Ash Yargi since her breakthrough victory in the Listed Without Fear Stakes earlier in April.

Ole Kirk leads by individual winners, having 11 total, but Farnan is biting at his heels with number of stakes horses, so a victory by either of Ole Kirk’s offspring in the Breeders’ would be a boost to his record. Vinery Stud recently revealed his 2025 fee will rise by $44,000 to be $99,000 (inc GST), reflecting his first season success on the track.

Wootton Bassett (GB), who sits second by prizemoney but third for overall winners (five), has no runners in either juvenile stakes race this Saturday, but has a chance to add to his tally when Hawkes Racing’s Solid (NZ) steps out at either Randwick or Newcastle.

Up at Eagle Farm, first season sires Circus Maximus (Ire) and Cool Aza Beel (NZ) will have opportunities to extend their records, where the former’s unbeaten filly Ha’Penny Hatch (NZ) and the latter’s debutant daughter Don’t Tellyafather step out in the Listed Calaway Gal Stakes.

Fernie chasing first Karrakatta Plate with four-horse attack

Local trainer Luke Fernie is chasing his first victory in the G2 Karrakatta Plate at Ascot on Saturday, and he saddles up four runners for this year’s tilt at one of Western Australia’s premier juvenile events. His closest run to date was two years ago where dual Listed winner Ripcord (Written By) finished third behind Group 1-performer Super Smink (Super One).

This year, Fernie leaves nothing to chance with four genuine chances; three have been strong winners, and maiden galloper Just Too Fly (Justify {USA}) was second last start in the Listed Perth Stakes to Saturday’s top seed Castle Road (Safeguard).

“He's (Just Too Fly) probably our main contender in the race and he's drawn well with a good rider,” Fernie told Racing.com. “There'll be good tempo in the race, so he should lob right behind them and give a good account of himself.

“(He's been) very good from his last start, he was really good three deep, done a lot of work, recovered really well from it.”

The other three contenders - Kings Court (Time To Reign), who was fourth in the same Listed event last start, G3 WATC Gimcrack Stakes third-placed Loves Talking (I’m All The Talk), and Good As Hell (Dirty Work) - have all pleased Fernie in the lead-up. It will be some task for the race caller on Saturday as all four will run in Fernie’s familiar hot pink and black leopard print silks.

Paul Jordan’s Castle Road profiles as the main threat, having won three from five with a 3.42l margin in his last victory, but Sean and Jake Casey’s Do I Feel Lucky (Dirty Work) also looms large over the field. The gelding never got a chance in the Perth Stakes, but was previously the winner of the R. Listed Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic at Pinjarra.