Breathtaking Tentyris storms home to strike in Lightning
Tentyris (Street Boss) stamped himself as the most exciting sprinter in Australia and took a large step towards living up to Anthony Freedman’s huge assessment of him with a breathtaking win in Saturday’s Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Flemington.
After the colt stormed to victory in last November’s Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), Freedman told his son and co-trainer Sam he could be the best horse he ever comes across, despite the younger trainer’s many future years in this business, and Tentyris being only a spring three-year-old at the time.
It certainly looked hard to argue that point when Godolphin’s homebred son of the remarkable Street Boss (Street Cry) powered to his third straight victory – and his fourth from his last five starts – in the Lightning.
While his 2.25 length Coolmore win was dominant, Saturday’s triumph in his first attempt at open company in the weight-for-age feature outstripped it, and put racing fans on watch for an explosive autumn to come from the chestnut.
One of four winners on the day, all at stakes level, for Damian Lane, Tentyris was settled in a clear last place of the eight, and was ten lengths off the lead on settling.
After a heady pace was set, first by Beiwacht (Bivouac) and then by Giga Kick (Scissor Kick), the well backed $2.60 favourite was eight lengths off the front runners at the 300 metres, and three lengths behind – and still last – inside the 200 metres.
It seemed he couldn’t possibly have the finish to haul in the leaders, but at the 150 metres, as the brave filly My Gladiola (I Am Invincible) was being hailed the winner, Tentyris simply exploded in phenomenal style to power to the lead in a few strides, going on to score by 0.75 lengths.
My Gladiola, well supported at $7, had to settle for second behind the colt, as she had in the Coolmore. Tough mare Benedetta (Hellbent) flew home for third at $26, as $3.50 second elect Giga Kick weakened into fifth.
Lane had taken over from injured regular rider Mark Zahra for his second ride on Tentyris, having run a 0.1 length second on him in last year’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) behind Devil Night (Extreme Choice).
And while the colt’s backers will have been anxious a furlong from home, the calm final pre-race words from Sam Freedman to his jockey – “trust the horse” – proved prescient in the most emphatic style.
“Dad and I spoke in the last couple of days, about how in a small field, they can be tactical and you can get sucked into riding a horse out of his comfort zone,” Freedman told Racing.com.
“Last prep, when we rode him a little close in the Danehill first-up, he was a bit soft late. He balanced up in the Gothic to let him work home [and win]. It was the same in the Coolmore and the same today.
“His turn of foot, when you ask him, is there as soon as you need it. Our instructions for Damian were, ‘Just trust that when you need him, he’s there – let them all go’.
“They always take off a little bit early in these races. You’ve only got to be in front at the end. That’s all that matters.”
As for how special Tentyris might be, Freedman said he’d heard telling words after the Coolmore from his father. Anthony was part of the Freedman Brothers team who reigned supreme in the 1990s under older sibling Lee, with such celebrated performers as Schillaci (Salieri) and Mahogany (Last Tycoon), both two-time Lightning winners.
“Anthony has been in the game for so long. He actually said to me at the end of the spring campaign, ‘This might be the best horse you ever train’,” Sam said.
“I thought, ‘You might be suggesting you trained one better back in the 90s or 2000s’. So there was a bit of cheek there.
“But they had Mahogany, Schillaci, and some champions. But he [Tentyris] is building his own record that is hopefully going to be right up there with some of the best.”
Before Godolphin’s switch last year from having a private trainer to dispersing their team across nine different stables, Anthony and Sam Freedman still were given a limited number of runners by Sheikh Mohammed’s empire, including 2019 Blue Diamond winner Lyre (Lonhro).
Sam Freedman had no hesitation saying Tentyris had put himself at the forefront of the horses the stable had trained for the royal blue, as he forecast a likely start for the colt in the VRC Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) on March 7.
“It means a lot because these horses don’t come around very often,” he said.
“Godolphin have been huge supporters of ours for such a long time and we’ve had some really good horses for them over the years, but this will be top of the list.”
Lane supported Freedman’s assertion.
“He’s an incredible talent,” the winning jockey said of Tentyris.
“We just only had the one play with him, with how he steps out of the barriers. It was just a risk whether the 1000 [metres] was going to be too short. It certainly wasn’t.
“Mid-race, I had to ask him to pick up the bridle and when he did, he really joined in well and as has become his trademark, that last bit of his race was outstanding – incredible.”
Asked how good the colt was, Lane said: “I think the development in his temperament, his attitude, is really good now. As an older horse, he’s really competitive. He’s shown he can go to the top level and he’s going to be winning good races for a bit to come yet.”
Tentyris is by a chestnut out of a chestnut, being by Street Boss and being the second and best runner out of Deity (Exceed And Excel), a daughter of four-time Group 1 winner Divine Madonna (Hurricane Sky), who won three of 14 starts including two in Sydney.
Deity slipped in 2023 but now has a filly foal bred on a similar cross to Tentyris, being by Anamoe (Street Boss). The mare was covered by Darley star stallion Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) last October.
Street Boss is enjoying a break-out campaign – despite this being his 14th season with runners in Australia.
The 21-year-old entered Saturday sitting eighth on the Australian general sires’ table – up from an 18th place finish last term and a career best of tenth in 2022-23.