Almost An Angel set to deliver another heavenly display
A pre-Christmas juvenile winner for So You Think (High Chaparral) is a rarity, so if his two-year-old filly Almost An Angel can make it two from two in the Merson Cooper Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield this Saturday it would deliver another posthumous accolade and further enhance the legacy of Coolmore’s late globetrotting trailblazer.
Almost An Angel has been a real “surprise package” for her trainer Robbie Griffiths, who teamed up with bloodstock agent Peter Ford to purchase Lot 139 for a mere $30,000 at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale after she had fallen just short of the reserve price placed on her by Alma Vale Thoroughbreds.
Given that the average price of the 71 So You Think yearlings sold at Australian auctions this year was a tick over $155,000, Griffiths already felt he was in front after such a modest outlay and when the filly showed early signs of promise upon arrival at his Cranbourne base from the breaker’s yard, that initial view only solidified in his mind.
The first and so far only So You Think juvenile to taste competitive action this season, Almost An Angel made the best possible start to her career with a seemingly effortless two-length victory at Caulfield a week ago.
That performance persuaded Griffiths to raise his sights to Saturday’s stakes contest, the outcome of which will determine whether she potentially plots a path towards January’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at the Gold Coast or is wrapped up in cotton wool ahead of an autumn preparation geared towards the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
“She was fantastic on debut,” Griffiths told ANZ News.
“She’s been a real surprise package, whenever I send out the reports to her owners I often say that I can’t believe I’m talking about a So You Think that is up and running as a two-year-old this side of Christmas. But you have to treat each horse as an individual, and not worry too much about its pedigree. She kept telling us she was ready to run, and to see her win like that was very exciting.
“Because she’s by So You Think we thought she’d be strong at the end of the race, and she certainly proved that. She’s just a ripper of a filly and she handled the occasion beautifully. She’s already a valuable filly, and hopefully she now goes on with the job on Saturday. It’s almost impossible to get a guide on her rivals because so many of them are making their debuts, so we’ll just worry about our filly.
“Everything is on the table after Saturday’s race, whether we send her to the paddock and bring her back for the Blue Diamond Prelude or keep her in work and press onto the Magic Millions. Running her in a two million dollar race is a very attractive proposition, but as always the horse will come first.”
In-form jockey Luke Nolen retains the ride on the brown filly, who is the first foal out of the Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock) mare All That Sass. While it is still very early days the eight-year-old already seems set for a more noteworthy career in the breeding barn than she had on the racetrack, where she managed just one win from 14 starts for Kim Waugh.
Given Almost An Angel’s precocity, the teams at Kitchwin Hills and Alma Vale may perhaps live to regret including All That Sass as part of their dispersal at last year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The beneficiaries were North Bloodstock, who bought her for $100,000 in foal to Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) and the resulting filly will be presented as part of their draft at January’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Should her half-sister deliver a significant pedigree update on Saturday afternoon, it could add an extra zero to the price commanded by Lot 39 – potentially to Griffiths’ chagrin.
“We’ve already had a look at some videos of the filly, so I’m excited to see her during the inspections,” he told ANZ News.
“Mick Malone’s team are preparing her and they seem to like her, I just hope we can afford to buy her. It’s a double edged sword, obviously we’d love to get some black type on Saturday with Almost An Angel but if she does win the race, we’ll have to dig much deeper into our pockets for her sister at the sales.”
Griffiths will be tuning into the coverage of Caulfield from the other side of the country, with the former president of the Australian Trainers Association soon due to head west to oversee Rey Magnerio’s (Magnus) final preparations ahead of Saturday’s Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ascot.
On Tuesday morning the uber consistent son of Magnus (Flying Spur), who has nine wins and nine placings from 24 starts, drew barrier eight for the $1.5 million contest which will see a significant gear change courtesy of the booking of a certain William Pike.
Having cast a spell over his rivals with a feature race double on Railway Stakes day, Griffiths is hoping the ‘Wizard of the West’ can produce some more magic on Rey Magnerio in a hot renewal of the Perth Summer Carnival’s feature sprint race.
“We were obviously delighted that Willie accepted the opportunity to ride the horse,” he said.
“We put the feelers out a few weeks ago, but we knew he would have plenty of local options to choose from so we didn’t necessarily think he would take up the offer. So it’s great for me and his owners that he said yes, because he’s in flying form and he knows that track so well.
“Horse and rider will need to be at their best, because the race has drawn a crackerjack field. Overpass is a very seasoned horse with a great record in Perth, he’s been there and done it before and his run in The Everest was huge. So while we have to go up in grade and will need to improve to win the race, he probably doesn’t. I think he’s the one to beat but Jokers Grin is also a fantastic horse and Benedetta is a Group 1 winner, so it’s a very deep and competitive race.”
Given that it’s his first trip away from home, Griffiths has been delighted with how well Rey Magnerio has coped with the fairly arduous journey, and how seamlessly he has settled into his temporary home. Part of the allure may be the more appealing climate in Perth, given the gelding is seemingly a sunseeker.
“He really enjoys the sunshine so it’s no surprise that he’s loving the weather over there,” Griffiths told ANZ News.
“It was 35 degrees the day he arrived and he’s been basking in it ever since. He’s been working well and his gallop on Saturday morning was excellent, he then went down to the beach for a recovery session on Sunday morning and we just gave him a poke around the last couple of days to keep him switched on.
“My brother-in-law Reid Balfour travelled over with him and he rides him in all his work, and he tells me the horse has really thrived over there. His last run from the back of the pack [in the Listed Century Stakes] was fantastic, and we think he’s well and truly ready for the 1200 metres now.
“It was always the plan to give him the two runs over 1000 metres before loading him onto the plane for his first trip away from home. We had to float him to Sydney to get on the flight over there, so we wanted to give him plenty of time to recover from his second-up run because the travel can take it out of horses. But everything has gone to plan so far and he hasn’t missed a beat, so we just hope all that equates to an A-plus performance on Saturday.”