From Marc Chevalier
Horse: Torrens
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Winter Cup) Torrens was having his first run in 10 weeks when midfield to Eliyass in the Lord Mayors Cup at Randwick last Saturday. He never goes to the paddock this horse. He is a stallion and as he’s getting older, he just gets too heavy. We give him a lot of slow work, keep him fit and keep him sound and he’s enjoying it. It’s a bit more of a European style of training. We try to mix the best of both worlds and it seems to be working well with him.
From Lou Mary
Horse: Silver Halo
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 3, Highway Hcp) Silver Halo is into a Class 3, 1400m episode off three imposing wins on soft and heavy with 57.5kg. Really promising and an absolute muddy, wetter the better. We anticipated that weight off benchmark ratings, three wins, but she has upside third-up with the form she’s in. The timing was right to go out in distance in higher grade. It’s always tough for a filly to concede weight (57.5kg) but in a Class 3, rain affected ground and on pace, she’s right in it.
From James Cummings
Horse: Pereille
Message: (Saturday, Eagle Farm Race 2, Maker’s Mark Hinkler Hcp) Pereille will look to back up from a huge last start win on the Sunshine Coast in May. He was excellent at the Sunshine Coast, he demolished the field there, racing his way through the grades in a handicap and it was a very heavy 10 on the day. So he’ll find different conditions on the weekend but he’ll still be able to let down on this track and I’d be confident he can be a winning chance in that Hinkler Handicap.
Horse: Broadsiding
Message: (Saturday, Eagle Farm Race 6, J.J. Atkins) He’s proven to me he’s the type of horse now that he thrives on the travel, thrives on the pressure, he loves campaigning, he’s really enjoyed his time in training and he’s matured an incredible amount since he began his racing prep this time through. I think that’s going to bode really well for the horse next season – it just gives him an opportunity to learn a little bit more about what he’s doing. For two-year-olds to be stretched in their stamina, it doesn’t happen a lot in our racing season and Broadsiding needed to really be able to capitalise on that later in the two-year-old year so that’s what he’s doing so nicely. He’s undefeated in two runs over a mile, he showed no qualms with being dropped back in distance to win the Sires and overcome difficulties so he’s got a great nous for racing and he’s well and truly in the zone so for us it’s an exciting thing to be bringing a colt in good form to the JJ Atkins.
Horse: Vilana
Message: (Saturday, Eagle Farm Race 8, Stradbroke Hcp) He was dynamic in that race (Moreton Cup last week) and he really let go, it was a resounding victory there. He’s perfectly fit, he dropped back in distance to win that Moreton Cup and he steps back up to the seven furlongs in the Stradbroke in good shape. He pulled up amazing…he was licking his lips coming off the track this morning looking good. We’re satisfied to accept with a horse on the backup and we’d like to give the horse another opportunity to see if he can go a little closer. Vilana had been raced as a colt the previous two Stradbroke Handicaps but will return as a gelding for a third shot. It seems to us like it’s a pretty good timing for Vilana – it’s an opportune year for him to have another go and in the days leading up to it, it looks like he’s got a nice weight and the form from his win it looks like he’s good enough to be competitive this year. I don’t really mind the back up from that particular race in the setup we’ve given the horse and it might just give him his best chance yet. In previous years, I’ve had the horse a bit fresher coming out of races a few weeks beforehand, but I think this year it’s the right thing to do to make a change with Vilana and try to stimulate that big Group 1 performance out of him.
From Annabel Neasham
Horse: Mighty Ulysses
Message: (Saturday, Eagle Farm Race 8, Stradbroke Hcp) He’s a hard horse to be confident with,” Neasham admitted, “but he was very good winning here over the mile. He’s a very good horse… beaten less than a length in a St James’ Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. The key will be the tempo of the race. A ferocious tempo will allow him to relax. Hopefully they go quick.
From Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Horse: Sovereign Hill
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 1, Chandon Hcp) Sovereign Hill proved no match for the unbeaten Emirate last start. We certainly couldn’t fault his performance, I thought it was really good on the day. The winner was simply too good and looks a nice progressive horse. It looks a nice race for him (on Saturday), I would have thought the 1400m would be suitable for him. If he can repeat his performance from there last start I would have thought that sees him going very close. He looks to have trained on and looks in good shape.
Horse: Ha Ha Ha
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 6, Precise Air Hcp) I thought it was an encouraging trial from her, 1300m may be a little short for her. Once we see her get to a mile and beyond, as with most of those Europeans that when they come into her own.
Horse: Sir Lucan
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Winter Cup) Backing up from the Lord Mayors Cup. Sir Lucan, last weekend may not have appreciated the real testing conditions there. I know he performed very well on a rain affected track at Newcastle but I just felt he struggled there. He’s come through the race in good shape so more than happy to see him back up.
Horse: Youth Spirit
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 8, Winter Cup) His last start Randwick failure three weeks ago was head scratching. He’s coming off a disappointing run but I think he can bounce back. Certainly getting up in trip is what he’s looking for at this part of the preparation but first-up he was very good.
Horse: I’mintowin
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 9, Racing For Good on July 13 Hcp) I’mintowin could be restricted to races around the mile mark this preparation. The four-year-old led all the way over the same track and distance on November 4 but wasn’t quite as effective when stepped up in trip in two subsequent runs. He’s had three trials to really have him up to the mark for his first-up run. He looks to have come back nicely, strengthened up well. There were encouraging signs from him last preparation from him particularly first-up, he performed very well. We tried to stretch him out in trip last campaign, we’ll see how he progresses this time in but he may just be very effective around that mile distance.
From Dar Lunn
Horse: Elson Boy
Message: (Saturday, Rosehill Race 10, Rosehill Bowling Club Hcp) I was riding him that way, getting him out the back door and running home and it took him ten starts to win a maiden so I thought I’d better do something different, so we put a set of blinkers on him and rode him completely different and he won. Ever since then that’s the way we’ve been riding him, it just sort of suited him. Elson Boy is in a rich vein of form of late, winning his fifth race in a row last start at Scone on their feature Saturday meeting. We’re getting a new track put in (Dubbo) so we haven’t been able to get on the track that much, but in saying that he did work well this (Tuesday) morning. We’ll go around at Rosehill on Saturday and win, lose or draw I’d say we’ll give him a let up for a month to six weeks and come back and look for a nice race, something like The Kosciuszko probably wouldn’t be beyond him. Apprentice Chelsea Hillier, who rode Elson Boy to victory at Scone and claims 3kg in town will continue her association with the horse.
From Team Snowden
Horse: Huetor
Message: (Saturday, Eagle Farm Race 9, Q22) He didn’t get beaten far (in the Doomben Cup), so I don’t see anything wrong with the run at all. The Q22 wasn’t originally on the winter carnival program for Huetor, but the gelding has responded really well to a short freshen-up. I was nearly going to turn him out. Previously, we’ve gone to the Q22 after (the Doomben Cup) and it hasn’t worked for us. I tipped him out for four days in the paddock at a stable close by where (fellow trainer) Tony Gollan spells his horses. He came back in after four days and he looked absolutely amazing. It’s incredible what the four days has done for him.
From Bjorn Baker
Horse: Alegron
Message: (Saturday, Eagle Farm Race 4, Brisbane Cup) Alegron enters Saturday’s Brisbane Cup with renewed hope after breaking his losing streak with the stable. Acquired with a throat issue, Alegron underwent surgery, which has proven effective. He’s a strange horse as he doesn’t get to his best until he hits 2000 and beyond. A Brisbane Cup victory could set sights on loftier goals. If he won the Brisbane Cup, you’ve got to dream, and we’d be partly on our way to a Melbourne Cup.
From The Editor
Sydney Race 1 – Sovereign Hill
Sydney Race 4 – For Victory
Sydney Race 8 – Hopeful
