Inside Goss

From Paul Niceforo

Fri 15th Mar, 2024

Horse: Territory Express
Message:
(Saturday, Rosehill Race 9, Ajax Stakes) His whole target has been the Doncaster this prep. Whether he’s good enough I don’t know but I wanted to give him a chance to get in. It’s a very good field in the Ajax but he’s a good up and comer so I’m not frightened by any of them. The gelding is really only starting to realise his potential this season, having recorded his three career wins to date, and that was on show in his dashing first-up Kembla Grange win under Zac Lloyd. Zac came and galloped him before his last win and he said it gave him a lot of confidence, and the horse came out and won. The better quality horses we come up against, being a backmarker, it’s a bigger disadvantage but as he steps up in distance it might offset it a bit. He won’t surprise me, I expect him to perform really well in that class because he has the ability to be up there with them.

From Team Snowden

Fri 15th Mar, 2024

Horse: Revolutionary Miss
Message:
(Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Coolmore Classic) Revolutionary Miss has been in career-best form this season, winning four of her past five starts, the last two in succession. She makes her own luck, she usually finds the right spot, especially with Michael Dee on, he’s got a really good association with her. She has narrowly gone down in Group Ones twice now, so it would be really great for the ownership group to tick this one.

From Team Hawkes

Fri 15th Mar, 2024

Horse: Fly Fly
Message:
(Saturday, Rosehill Race 3, Magic Night Stakes) Fly Fly boasts form around some of the better two-year-olds, finishing 4th to Switzerland on debut in the Pierro Plate and beating all but Gimcrack Stakes winner Manaal in the Sweet Embrace Stakes. She was out of her comfort zone here at her first race and she got beaten just over two lengths ….then her run the other day, if she draws a barrier she wins. I thought she could win on Saturday. It’s her first ever prep, she has never been out of the system. She went straight to the breakers and came straight to me. That’s pretty phenomenal really. She was a late bloomer and she is actually not nominated for the Slipper. A victory in the Magic Night would prompt a discussion about whether to pay the late entry fee to back up in the Golden Slipper.

Horse: Agenda Setter
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 4, Pago Pago Stakes) His two recent trials indicating he has returned a more polished horse at his second racing campaign. The colt will be better over 1400m but am pleased with his build-up to Saturday. He has come back bigger, stronger, better. It’s a nice starting point. I think the further he gets into his prep, the better he is going to be but he’s not without a cheeky chance.

From Gary Portelli

Fri 15th Mar, 2024

Horse: Itszarbaby
Message:
(Saturday, Rosehill Race 3, Magic Night Stakes) Itszarbaby makes her debut in the Group 3 Magic Night Stakes and it’s something of a throw at the stumps. She shifted a shoe and trod on her toe clip so she was feeling her foot all the way down the straight, that’s why she was zig-zagging (in her latest trial). She’s a nice filly, I was hoping the race would come up a bit softer so it’s a look-see for her. We’ll have a crack at it and see how she finishes.

Horse: Kintyre
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 7, Phar Lap Stakes) Kintyre could be in for a strong autumn preparation with a slashing 3rd behind Gently Rolled at Rosehill three weeks ago as he was the only horse to break 34 seconds (33.72). If he ran really well he could back up in the (Rosehill) Guineas the following Saturday, or he could be a Frank Packer Plate horse. It’s a bit of a fork in the road for us, it’s not the deepest race in the world. He’s raced against better opposition and been competitive so if we’re going to step up to the Guineas you’d be wanting to run top two or three. What he doesn’t do is catch the eye. He’s a workman and puts himself in a position. He doesn’t have to be ridden back, he’s an on pace horse and will be up there somewhere.

Horse: Kimochi
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Coolmore Classic) The filly missed a top three finish for the first time in her career (in the Surround Stakes) as the plans went out the window when she was checked at the start and wound up near tail in a slowly run race. With 50.5kg (in the Coolmore Classic), I like to see Kimochi in a stalking position around midfield. We’ve got a big field that hopefully spreads out and we can get three deep with cover, that’d be perfect. If we get a shower coming down the middle of the track might be the place to be.

From Michael Freedman

Fri 15th Mar, 2024

Horse: Wymark
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 2, Quayclean Hcp) Wymark is only a month out of maiden company but it was his near 10 length win at Newcastle two weeks ago that has put him in the spotlight for a tougher assignment in the Quayclean Handicap. My feeling would be to see how he measures up on Saturday and then if he was to run well we could have a look at a race like the Tulloch (Stakes). When he came back for the spring he was a bit too colty and lost his way a bit so we gelded him and brought him back for this prep. He was a bit unlucky not to win first-up at Hawkesbury then he went up to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions maiden and drew 17 of 17 and flashed home to run 4th. He seems to be regaining some of that early form and enjoying stepping up in trip.

From Bjorn Baker

Fri 15th Mar, 2024

Horse: Renaissance Woman
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Coolmore Classic) The mare was a little below par first-up in the Millie Fox but she can do that before improving sharply. She’s a big filly that can carry a bit of condition so maybe she needs that first-up run to be at her best. The blinkers go on, we needed her to draw a good gate which she has (gate 5) and hopefully she can take advantage of that gate. Realistically if we are midfield that would be ideal. In a big race like that it’s going to be hard so the key is putting her as far forward as we can while still being comfortable. On her day she’s a high class mare. First-up didn’t work out as well as we had hoped but 1500m and three weeks between runs she’ll be much better.

Horse: Amor Victorious
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 9, Ajax Stakes) We thought we’d try to take him through the grades but he has a great win record and he’s just improved. After his last win we really had to have a bit of a think about what we do with him and where we go. He’s doing everything we could have asked of him at this stage. The big races are what it’s about and he’d be in with a light weight so we had to consider that. You’ve got to be in to win and dreaming about The Championships. It’s a Group 2 and very competitive. His work has been good, he’s had a trial in between and he gets in with a pretty good weight. He has plenty of quality and we know he’s good at this trip, 1500m, and good at the mile too so that gives us a bit more confidence. We go forward, if not in front he’ll be second. He has that natural speed, a very high cruising speed we want to take advantage of for sure,

From Annabel Neasham

Thur 14th Mar, 2024

Horse: Castanya
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 3, Magic Night Stakes) Castanya was scratched from last Saturday’s Reisling Stakes due to a foot abscess, leaving little option but to push her final lead-up run back seven days to this weekend’s Magic Night Stakes at Rosehill. It’s not ideal going there (to the Golden Slipper) with the back-up, but we saw Shinzo do it (last year) and the Cummings’ filly did it a few years ago. She is the sort of filly where if it’s a very high pressure race, which it should be, she will be one of the strongest ones late. While Castanya missed some work last week, she was able to gallop on Saturday, albeit without a shoe on her affected hoof. Saturday will be her first start beyond 1000 metres, but her racing style suggests she will relish the extra ground.

From Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott

Thur 14th Mar, 2024

Horse: Tropical Squall
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Coolmore Classic) Tropical Squall has won the Flight Stakes and the Surround Stakes so far this season. She has come through that run (the Surround Stakes) in tremendous order and I thought she was open to some nice improvement coming out of it. It actually looks a nice progression for her. It will be interesting to see how she is weighted (54.5kg) against those older mares but 1500 metres around that track I think is ideal for her. Importantly she’s trained on and I do think she’s got that ability to measure up against the older mares, particularly at the handicap conditions. The options could be a Doncaster. She would be a nice lightweight chance in that, again keeping her at the mile. If things weren’t to measure up as we hoped, or if the Doncaster or weight-for-age against those older mares isn’t an option, well stepping out to a race like the Vinery against her own age and sex could be the option. That’s where Saturday probably gives you a perfect indication.

From Chris Waller

Thur 14th Mar, 2024

Horse: Duvana
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 4, Pago Pago Stakes) Lovely colt, he’s drawn wide again (gate 10), which is a negative, but he’ll be finishing off strong. If he’s not already the horse to talk about for the Sires Produce, I’m sure he will be after Saturday.

Horse: Gatsby’s
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 4, Pago Pago Stakes) I am excited to see what improvement Gatsby’s has taken from his win over 1100m at Canterbury on February 23. There’s big talk on him, big talk. He’s done everything to please us at home, James (McDonald) likes him, rates him highly, and the form out of the (debut) race stacks up. It’s a nice race, a similar path to what Shinzo went in last year; won the Pago Pago then won the (Slipper).

Horse: Zougotcha
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Coolmore Classic) Zougotcha was scratched from the Coolmore last year, won by stablemate Espiona, after drawing a wide gate and instead won the Phar Lap Stakes. She posted her first success since then when she accounted for subsequent Canterbury Stakes winner Lady Laguna in the Millie Fox three weeks ago. The form is good from her first-up run with the horse that finished second winning the Group 1 on Saturday. She’s absolutely flying. She’s come back bigger, better, and stronger this time in and she’s going to take a bit of beating but 57kg in a Group 1 handicap is a lot of weight.