First-season sires enjoy successful day at the trials
There was plenty of juvenile trial action across New South Wales on Friday, with five heats for two-year-olds conducted at Warwick Farm, while there were also six at Newcastle.
A pair of trials at Warwick Farm were taken out by unraced fillies by Coolmore’s first–season sire Yes Yes Yes (Rubick). Kicking off the double was the Marc Connors-trained Shezasiren, beating Idolised (Zoustar) by 1.2 lengths in her 819-metre heat. Ciaron Maher’s Jellicious (Snitzel), a $600,000 Gold Coast purchase, came home another 0.7 lengths away in third.
Shezasiren was bought by her trainer for $35,000 from the Parsons Creek draft at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2023 and she is out of Irish Listed winner Siren’s Song (Azamour).
In the next event of the morning, the Chris Waller-trained Let’s Go Barbie was having her third trial after finishing sixth and seventh respectively at Rosehill in December and she showed the break had done wonders when she came home 1.2 lengths ahead of the Annabel Neasham-trained Leovanni (Proisir). Kaelabella (Casino Prince) was a further length away in third.
Bred and owned by Rockingham Thoroughbreds, Let’s Go Barbie is out of the Group 3-placed Pierro (Lonhro) mare Gayatri and hails from the extended family of Group 2 winner Daisies (Sebring) and Zou Tiger (Zoustar).
The penultimate two-year-old heat of the morning was taken out by Prorata, a son of Aquis Farm’s first-season sire Pierata (Pierro).
After coming home in fifth in his first trial at the same venue in January, the colt was kept up to his work all the way to the line by Rachel King, eventually beating Sleuth (Spieth) by 0.2 lengths. Omnic (Proisir) finished another 0.7 lengths away in third.
A $200,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale purchase for his trainer Greg Hickman, who also trained Pierata to nine victories including the 2019 All-Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), Prorata is out of the winning mare Miss Beauty World (God’s Own), herself a half-sister to the Group 3-winning trio Lite’n In My Veins (Henrythenavigator), Written Beauty (Written Tycoon) and Hi World (High Chaparral).
The final heat of the morning at Warwick Farm was won by the unraced Star Turn (Star Witness) colt Megastar Heart.
Trained by Annabel Neasham, the $120,000 Inglis Classic buy crossed the line 0.1 lengths ahead of Pisces (Frosted), with a further 4.5 lengths back to Huka Falls (Headwater) in third.
Newgate’s first-season sire Tassort (Brazen Beau) also got on the board courtesy of the Gary Portelli-trained Cashaway Gold’s win in her 819-metre heat.
Ridden by Rachel King, the filly, who finished 12th of 13 runners on debut in the Inglis Nursery (RL, 1000m) back in December, looked to be the more furnished article on Friday when she beat Miss Trustful (Dubious) by 0.2 lengths, while Waller’s Frosty Girl (Super Seth) came home in third.
Meanwhile at Newcastle, Brutal (O’Reilly), another of Newgate’s first-season sires, chalked up a pair of winners, with the first being the Kris Lees-prepared colt Brutal Bowler, who sauntered to a 3.4 length win over Listins Lass (Capitalist) in the 1000-metre event.
The colt was bought by his trainer and Justin Bahen Bloodstock for $240,000 from the Newhaven Park draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Brutal Bowler is out of Listed-placed winner Refer (Fastnet Rock).
Brutal enjoyed another winner in the shape of Harlem Queen, who like Brutal Bowler, is also out of a Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare.
Trained by Nathan Doyle, the filly finished second in her first trial at Beaumont in January and she went one better on Friday, beating Wobbly Boot (Pierata) by 0.4 lengths in the 800-metre trial.
Hailing from one of the most popular families in the Stud Book, Harlem Queen is out of Listed winner Harlem River, making him a half-brother to the stakes-placed Lady Harlem (Sebring). Further back in the pedigree this is the same family as dual Group 1 winner In Her Time (Time Thief) and Group 2 scorer Yes Yes Yes, who won The Everest (1200m) in 2019.
Harlem Queen’s stablemate Body Of Venus, a daughter of Leneva Park’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m)-producing first-season Royal Meeting (Invincible Spirit), was also successful in her 1000-metre heat.
Ridden by Ashley Morgan, the filly, who finished sixth on her competitive debut at the same venue in November, put her racing experience to good use, pulling 0.5 lengths clear of Lune D’excellence (Puissance De Lune), with Aged Care (Brutal) a further 0.9 lengths away in third.
Out of winning mare Touch Too Much (Dehere), Body Of Venus is a half-brother to stakes-placed Call It A Day (Domesday).
Doyle enjoyed another trial winner on Friday morning when the unraced Aroha Stone (El Roca) added to his first trial win at Beaumont in January.
Tickle Me Pink, an unraced filly be Vancouver (Medaglia D’Oro), took out her 100-metre heat for trainer Mark Minervini, while the Kris Lees-trained Thundering Soul (Spirit Of Boom), who made a winning debut in a 900-metre Scone maiden back in January before finishing eighth in the Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m), was also among the juvenile trial winners at Newcastle on Friday.