‘We feel that this horse is a special horse and we feel that he’ll get the job done’
Boom colt Rosberg (Deep Field) will face the biggest test of his short career when he lines up for just his second start in Saturday’s Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) at Flemington.
The Clinton McDonald-trained three-year-old set tongues wagging with his blistering Cranbourne jump out win in 45.61 seconds before delivering on the hype when he landed the McKenzie Stakes (Listed, 1200m) at The Valley on debut.
Now the current favourite for the Danehill must extend his flawless record against a strong field that includes Group 2 winner and Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) runner-up Tentryis (Street Boss), Group 3 victor Jimmy Recard (I Am Invincible), regally bred dual stakes winner My Gladiola (I Am Invincible), unbeaten gelding Legacy Bound (Ole Kirk) and Group 1 placegetter Tycoon Star (Written Tycoon).
However, McDonald is confident Rosberg is ready for the challenge.
“He’s come through the run in great order,” McDonald told ANZ News. “He’s a horse that’s always shown immense ability, and we obviously threw him into the deep end to sink or swim, and he has come through it well.
“He’s learned a lot from having his first start in such a high grade race, his mannerism and attitude has been terrific since that run. We feel that he’s grown mentally and really learnt a lot from it, so we’re expecting for him to be a better version again, come this Saturday.”
Rosberg has had one look at the Flemington straight, finishing fourth of four in a jumpout behind Saturday rivals McGaw (I Am Immortal), Tentryis and Jimmy Recard, where he was partnered by Ben Melham.
“Ben Melham rides him and knows him well and said he absolutely loved [the straight],” McDonald said. “We didn’t send him out there to do anything over the top, it was more for him to go there, have a day away, have another experience and a look at the straight.
“He handled it really well. He never turned her hair, he jumped cleanly. He was nice and relaxed through the gallop, and Ben said he went straight as an arrow, so that was the main thing.
“He’s had a nice gallop this week on Tuesday, and we feel that he’s prepped up really well coming into Saturday. He’s going to have to be at the top of his game, there’s really nice horses in this race. It’s a stronger race than what he contested at The Valley, but we feel that this horse is a special horse and we feel that he’ll get the job done.”
From barrier two, McDonald will leave the tactics to Melham.
“We’ve got a deal, Benny and I. I train them, he rides them. So once I leg Benny up, that’s not my problem, and the keys are handed over to him and he’s not to stuff it up,” the trainer said.
McDonald compares Rosberg to his late father Ross’s superstar Weekend Hussler (Hussonet), winner of the 2007 Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) among a total of seven Group 1s.
“Why I compare him to Weekend Hussler is everything that he does, he does with ease,” McDonald said. “He can run time and he looks like he’s having a canter. Ben said he’s one of those horses you sit on and you don’t know how fast you’re going, but he doesn’t look like he’s going fast.
“He just has that ability to do everything with so much ease and he’s got an incredible set of lungs on him, he recovers very quickly, and he’s just got everything you look for in a horse and the most important thing is we haven’t found the ceiling on him yet.”
Victory on Saturday would set Rosberg up for a tilt at the Coolmore Stud Stakes, the race McDonald has long identified as his spring grand final, and aim to give the trainer his first Group 1 win since the ill-fated Hayasugi (Royal Meeting) won the Blue Diamond Stakes of 2024.
“[The Coolmore is] what we’ve got our eyes on. That’s our prize that we’re tracking towards and everything’s been planned towards that race, and if he wins the Danehill, he will be two for two in stakes racing. I think that if he wins on Saturday, the sky’s the limit for the horse and he would be very hard to beat in the Coolmore,” McDonald added.
Despite three vacant slots in The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m), McDonald says connections will not deviate from the plan.
“It’s a question I really haven’t thought about, but first thoughts would be no,” he said on a potential crack at The Everest.
“The reason being is he’s only [at his] second race start, very inexperienced, taking on seasoned sprinters with probably the world’s best sprinter [Ka Ying Rising] coming from Hong Kong. I think he could probably run in an Everest next year with a bit more seasoning.
“If you win an Everest, it’s not going to add more value to him than if you win a Coolmore, only the prize-money difference. We will focus on the Coolmore. That’s always been our goal, and every time you change your goal, that’s when you come unstuck.
“He’s had four weeks between his first and second run, and will have four weeks again to his third. We haven’t overtaxed him and feel there’s plenty of improvement to come into the Coolmore. I would say not [for The Everest], but nothing’s off the table. It’s the owners’ choice at the end of the day.”
Bred by SF Bloodstock and Blake Sandblom Pty Ltd, Rosberg was purchased by Shane McGrath Bloodstock for $260,000 from Newgate Farm’s draft at the 2024 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.
The colt, who is the third foal and only stakes winner out of multiple US stakes-winning mare Sheer Pleasure (Birdonthewire), was then secured by McDonald for $750,000 at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale after preparing him for McGrath’s draft.
“Shane McGrath picks all these ready to run horses, so I’m lucky enough to do business for Shane. Shane asked me to prepare his draft last year, which I did, and this horse came into our system. He’s a horse from day one, once we saw him and we let him slide up a furlong, I got some owners and had to buy him, and obviously there was a lot of Hong Kong interest in the horse,” McDonald said.
“We had to be strong on him, which we were, and we got him for $750,000, but in saying that, Shane had other horses there, a horse called Bob’s Line that was passed in by Shalaa. He was passed in for $150,000. He’s been sold to Hong Kong, and he’s won two trials up there.
“At the end of the day, I trust what Shane buys. I think he’s a very, very good judge of a horse, and any horses that we’ve done this year are all nice horses. There’s a lot of nice horses there.”
McGrath will present a 14-strong draft at this year’s Inglis Ready2Race Sale at Riverside on October 16.
“We’ve had some run up really well, and they’ve all got good actions. The Tornado out of Gig was very good. I like the Grunt there, the Dirty Work is a nice horse. So we’re trying to do a brand where it’s not about running the fastest time, it’s about producing race horses and turning them into race horses. So a trainer can get them and say, ‘geez this is well educated’, and then they can go on and train the horse and know Shane McGrath has bought it, who’s one of the best judges going around,” McDonald said.