Fletcher ready to Party at Eagle Farm if Veight can win the Guineas
Telemon Thoroughbreds owner’s belief in Grunt colt could pay off with Group 1 win
Dan Fletcher will leave the confines of Telemon Thoroughbreds, his Queensland farm, for the first time in months tomorrow, but he won’t be venturing far.
The studmaster will be in Brisbane to watch his homebred stakes-placed three-year-old Party For Two (Sidestep) resume at Eagle Farm, which is as far as he’s prepared to venture with mares foaling and his four stallions in full service, despite also sharing in the ownership of Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) contender Veight (Grunt).
The VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) winner, trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, is from the first crop of Yulong’s dual Group 1 winner Grunt (O’Reilly), but it was his dam Neena Rock (Fastnet Rock) which led to Fletcher, his wife Rae and friends joining the syndicate in the $220,000 Inglis Classic yearling alongside Wayne Mitchell and Sledmere Stud.
“We do a fair bit of work on ratings and some data analysis and we thought the mare was a high-level performer,” Fletcher told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“She was a Group 3 winner and her peak performances were very good. She was probably a better mare than the market possibly appreciated.
“Just looking at him as an individual we thought he was good value as a yearling and thankfully he can gallop.”
The newly turned three-year-old took out the McNeil Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) first-up before his colours were lowered in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (Gr 2, 1400m), won by the unbeaten Steparty (Artie Schiller).
Fletcher believes there were excuses for Veight’s defeat.
“I just think he was in a bit of a hurry and from understanding – I wasn’t down there – I just think he had a bee in his bonnet on the day,” he said.
“He got himself a bit worked up, which is not his usual character, he’s normally very relaxed.
“He has had a history of wanting to lug out at times when he is not comfortable, so he gave Ben [Melham] a fairly difficult ride and he didn’t put his best foot forward, but we’re fairly optimistic that he’s put that behind him.
“All of his work since then has been good, so I still think he’s a live chance.”
Damian Lane, who has ridden the colt in his four previous starts, returns to the saddle on Saturday after riding him in a recent jump out win at Ballarat. Veight will jump from barrier one in the Guineas.
Fletcher said: “You can get a bit cluttered up in there (barrier one) and be unlucky, but he should get the chance to conserve his energy and if he does get a soft run that’ll make him do justice to himself.”
The Telemon Thoroughbreds owner is also looking forward to the opportunity to watch Party For Two, last season’s Blue Diamond Prelude (F) (Gr 2, 1100m) runner-up, returning in a three-year-old handicap over 1000 metres after two below par runs during the Brisbane winter carnival for new trainers Steve O’Dea and Matthew Hoysted.
“I pencilled the 14th of October a couple of months ago as I haven’t had a day off for a while, so unless there’s some kind of calamity we’ll try and get away from the farm on Saturday and go to the races and take it all in,” he said.
He wouldn’t rule out Party For Two, who won two races in Queensland for original trainer Damien Batters by a combined ten lengths, winning first up after a blistering barrier trial victory at Deagon earlier this month.
“She definitely looks like she’s back to the filly we took to Melbourne. We probably overtaxed her in hindsight, not really letting her have a break (last April),” the owner said.
“We were keen to give her the chance to become a stakes winner as a two-year-old but in saying that I think there were a few things she wasn’t quite coping with on the back of running in the Blue Diamond, so she certainly seems to be back to herself in her trials. “You never know until you put them under race pressure, but her trial was sensational, so hopefully she puts her best foot forward on Saturday.”