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Black Soil’s fillies experiment paying off with promising Isotope

Gollan-trained Deep Field two-year-old favourite to bring up hat-trick in Champagne Stakes

Isotope (Deep Field), the favourite for Saturday’s BRC Champagne Classic (Gr 2, 1200m) at Eagle Farm, will further entrench her spot as the Black Soil Bloodstock flagbearer if she extends her unbeaten record to three at her first attempt at stakes level and strengthens her position towards the head of the J J Atkins Plate (Gr 1, 1400m) betting in the process.

The boom juvenile, who is trained by Tony Gollan, has emerged as the most promising of the Black Soil enterprise’s small batch of two-year-olds secured at last year’s sales after Sydney businessman Brian Siemsen and his advisers mapped out a plan to target well-bred fillies at last year’s yearling sales.

Siemsen, who raced Group 1 winners Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo) and Temple Of Boom (Sequalo) with Gollan, had his trainer, renowned agent John Foote and Black Soil’s principal agent Harry McAlpine assist in the selection process.

One of those was Isotope, the current $5 equal favourite with Wisdom Of Water (Headwater) for the J J Atkins Plate, who burst onto the scene with a ten-length victory at Doomben on April 11 before backing it up with a professional performance at the Sunshine Coast on April 25 over 1000 metres.

The Deep Field (Northern Meteor) filly was given an exhibition gallop in company at Doomben last Wednesday and reports suggest she has come through her last start in fine order.

“I can only go by what the trainer tells me and he says that she’s going exceptionally well,” McAlpine said yesterday. 

“Obviously, it’s a step up now to Group level, but all the ratings and indicators suggest that she is up to the mark, we’re looking forward to Saturday.”

After such a dominant all-the-way win at her first start, McAlpine was taken with the way Isotope was able to settle behind the leaders and had the ability to go through a narrow gap before extending nicely to win by two and a quarter lengths second-up.

“It’s pretty important to show that sort of racing pattern with her inexperience. She can sit off then, relax and travel and keep up with them, which is pretty impressive for only a two-start juvenile and that is what you need going into these big races,” he said.

“Tony’s mapped her campaign out from a long way out and so far it’s gone to plan. She’s travelled away from Brisbane (and won), but it’s a bit of an unknown how the Eagle Farm surface will be. 

“It seems like some horses handle the new Eagle Farm better than others, so I guess that is one unknown, but hopefully it’s a good surface and she handles the track.”

Black Soil Bloodstock, whose colours are also worn by stakes-placed three-year-old Niedorp (Not A Single Doubt), races the promising The Actuary (Sebring) and the unraced juveniles Bleu Zebra (I Am Invincible) and Rubin (Zoustar).

“Last year, we mapped out a plan … to target fillies who looked like they were going to be two-year-olds and had a pedigree and family behind them,” McAlpine said. 

“The whole idea is to get good horses firstly, but to make sure that there’s some residual there if they can’t live up to that ability. So far, they all seem to be going well, which is good. 

“The only other one to run so far out of that group is The Actuary who didn’t run very well on Friday night at the Sunshine Coast (when fourth), but her second start at Doomben was pretty impressive when she ran on strongly for third. 

“Those two are showing a heap of ability and we have an I Am Invincible filly which Tony has a very high opinion of and Rubin, a Zoustar filly, who is just coming to hand now.”

While more than happy with the current line-up, it could have been even better for Black Soil Bloodstock had it been able to land this season’s Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained star juvenile filly Away Game (Snitzel), who was victorious in four of her eight starts and the earner of more than $2.7 million in prize-money.

“It is going well with what we’ve put in place with Tony and John Foote, to go and target these sorts of horses and it’s nice that it’s coming to hand,” he said. 

“But we were also under bidders on Away Game, so it’s nice to know that we are shooting in the right direction.”

As for Isotope, she was well under the $425,000 that Away Game eventually sold for.

“We paid $170,000 for her when at the time Deep Field’s runners were only two, so it was a purchase we did on type,” he said. 

“A lot of the purchases are based on type. John Foote likes really good-moving horses and she was a terrific mover. 

“Daandine is also a very good farm who we hold in high regard; she ticked a lot of boxes and hopefully the purchase price is going to turn out to be pretty good buying.”

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