Straight course test run for Ulanova
New Zealand Group 1 winner shows promising signs in Flemington jump out
Some of the Sydney carnival’s spring contenders had important public hit-outs last week, and this week it was Victoria’s turn with a monster 25-heat barrier trial session conducted at Cranbourne yesterday.
Flemington, too, also held important jump–outs yesterday where Group 1-winning New Zealand filly Ulanova (Santos) stepped out ahead of a sprinting campaign for new trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman.
Handed a belated Sistema Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) win, upon the disqualification of Tokyo Tycoon (Satono Aladdin), Ulanova won three of her six starts in her two-year-old campaign for trainer Stephen Marsh.
It was then that Ulanova – a first–crop daughter of Santos (I Am Invincible) who recently relocated across the Tasman to Highview Stud from Aquis Farm in Australia – was transferred to the Freedmans.
Expatriate Kiwi Michael Wallace, who manages the global Gandharvi Racing operation owned by Kuldeep Singh Rajput, revealed from his US base yesterday that the plethora of sprinting options available to the three-year-old filly was the simple reason for the decision to send Ulanova to Victoria.
The NZ$150,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale graduate, who finished runner-up after showing speed in yesterday’s Flemington 800-metre course proper jump–out, was scratched from a Cranbourne barrier trial in favour of galloping on the straight track.
“It was more with a view to the future and potentially seeing her down the straight and how she executed down there, so that is why we elected to do that,” Wallace told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Sam has been in touch since and everybody seems really happy. It was pretty plain to see, she sprung the gates cleanly – she’s always been quick – her action’s good and she went to the line under a pretty strong hold against some pretty good horses. It’s all systems go at this stage.”
The three-year-old, who is owned by Gandharvi Racing and Wallace’s brother David, is expected to resume in the Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield on August 19, but their are a suite of stakes races at Flemington later in the spring, such as the Cap d’Antibes Stakes (Listed, 1100m), Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) and the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), which was won by filly In Secret (Invincible Spirit) last year.
“She is a Group 1 winner now honestly the decision was made for us in the fact that there are limited options for a three-year-old filly of her nature. She is a 1000-to-1200-metre filly and the options for her pre-Christmas (in New Zealand) are so limited that basically we had no other choice to bring her over and have ago,” agent Wallace said.
“Whether she stacks up, there’s only one way to find out, but we’re going to have ago. If she does (measure up) that’s great, if she doesn’t, we can always go back.”
Michael Dee rode Ulanova in the jump out, providing “complimentary” feedback to connections, before making the almost hour-long drive to the Cranbourne Training Complex to ride in four of the 25 barrier trials.
Among the Group 1-winning quartet of barrier trial rides was C’Est Magique (Zoustar), who has not raced since finishing runner-up in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) last October, also at Flemington.
The half-sister to Widden Stud’s young sire Written By (Written Tycoon) finished runner-up to twice Group 3-placed mare Hypothetical (Pride Of Dubai) in heat 15 over 800 metres, a barrier trial which also featured Group 3-placed colt Veecee (Capitalist) and the progressive four-year-old Flying On A Limb (Flying Artie).
Dee also won heat 12, over 1000 metres, on the Patrick Payne-trained Lang Park (Flying Artie), an unraced four-year-old owned by Hong Kong-based Price Bloodstock.
Meanwhile, Wallace confirmed he was already booked to return to Australia next year for the yearling sales.
At the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale earlier this year, Wallace signed for two fillies, including Pierro’s (Lonhro) $1.75 million half-sister to last season’s brilliant two-year-old filly Learning To Fly (Justify), and a colt in partnership with the Rosemont Alliance and agent Suman Hedge.
“With all these new operations, things take time, but from the limited runners we’ve had, it’s been great and we’ve got a lot of nice young horses and hopefully they can show their wares on the track and we’ll have a good few years ahead of us,” Wallace said.
“At this stage, we couldn’t be happier with the way things have kicked off.”