Laurie eyes Harbour City success with precocious pair
Matt Laurie has his sights set firmly on Sydney after celebrating a Group 2 double courtesy of Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express) and Vinrock (I Am Invincible) on a super Saturday for the stable at Flemington.
The precocious pair will board a truck bound for Randwick either later this week or the start of next as Laurie aims to conquer the Harbour City during the autumn months.
Laurie has three Group 1 wins on his CV but he believes it is only a matter of time before Treasurethe Moment – whom the Mornington horseman readily nominates as the best galloper he has ever put a saddle on – adds to that tally.
Yulong’s homebred filly registered her fourth straight stakes win with a commanding performance in the Kewney Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m), some two hours after Vinrock had taken the leap from a Pakenham maiden to VRC Sires’ Produce (Gr 2, 1400m) success in his considerable stride.
Both will now have their sights elevated, with Treasurethe Moment set to contest the Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Rosehill – potentially setting up a mouthwatering clash with Chris Waller’s last start Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) heroine Lady Shenandoah (Snitzel) on March 29.
One week later, imposing colt Vinrock will test his credentials at the elite level in the Inglis Sires’ Produce (Gr 1, 1400m) at Randwick.
Both have prepared for their impending trip north by galloping the reverse way on their home track, with Laurie leaving nothing to chance as he bids to end his black type drought in New South Wales.
“The 2000 metres of the Vinery looks ideal for the filly [Treasurethe Moment] now,” Laurie told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“She’ll head to Sydney either at the end of this week or the start of next, and we’ll look to give her a trial or a track gallop heading into the race. I feel like we’re going to add to her Group 1 tally pretty quickly, there’s something pretty special about this horse. She’s got a great attitude, she begins well, she travels well and she can quicken late even off a hot speed, which is why she continues to race at such a high level.
“Whenever a horse has such a good campaign, there’s always a bit of a doubt in your mind whether they can come back and be as dominant again, but she’s returned in such good order. It’s unreal to watch how she’s developed and keeps progressing. The frightening thing is that she’s still quite lean and leggy, so there’s more improvement to come once she has fully furnished.
“Vinrock is obviously nowhere near her level just yet, but it was a big progression from his maiden win to that performance on Saturday. There’s every chance he’ll continue that improvement, which he’ll need to in order to be competitive in a race like the Inglis Sires. Depending on how he runs in that race, we would potentially look at the Champagne Stakes next.
“We’ve already worked him the Sydney way of going and he took to it like a duck to water, he’s a very confident horse and nothing seems to faze him. He’s the fresh horse on the scene and we’ve got him going at the right time, so I’m excited to get him to Sydney to see what he can do.”
While Vinrock is merely the latest example of equine excellence produced by Yarraman Park’s flagbearer I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Treasurethe Moment has fast become the pin-up girl for Yulong’s second season sire Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice).
The 2020 CF Orr Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) hero achieved a notable stakes double over the weekend when his daughter Glasgow Lass carried Yulong’s bottle green colours to victory in the Ascot 1,000 Guineas (Listed, 1800m). While over in New Zealand, Alabama Lass added a third stakes win to her record when she won the Kings Plate (Gr 3, 1200m).
The stand–out success Laurie has enjoyed with Treasurethe Moment persuaded the trainer to part with $380,000 for Lot 225 – a colt by Alabama Express – at the recent Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
The youngster was comfortably the most expensive of the 13 Alabama Express yearlings offered for sale at Oaklands Junction, but Laurie is confident it will prove money well spent.
“I’m very excited about the colt we bought, because he’s a wonderful specimen,” said Laurie.
“For my money he was the nicest colt at the sale, so we were very pleased to come away with him. Treasurethe Moment obviously sets a pretty high benchmark, so I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to live up to her standards. But purely on his looks and conformation he would appear to have a bright future, and I’m sure it won’t be the last Alabama Express we buy at the sales.
“Mr Zhang has invested heavily in the stallion and has supported him with some of their own broodmares, which has given him every chance of succeeding. It was obviously a great opportunity for our stable to be given a horse like Treasurethe Moment to train, and fortunately we’ve been able to seize that opportunity with both hands.
“Alabama Express is doing a wonderful job at stud, so I’m sure it’s giving everyone at Yulong enormous satisfaction to see this filly do what she’s been doing up to now. And hopefully the best is yet to come.”
As a homebred sent to him from Yulong’s Nagambie property, Treasurethe Moment effectively entered Laurie’s Mornington stables as a free agent – even if her racetrack feats have since made her a priceless commodity.
In contrast, Laurie invested $300,000 in Vinrock in partnership with long-time ally Tim Deutsher of Wilannah Park Bloodstock, but that deal now falls firmly into the shrewd category – not least as it only just eclipses I Am Invincible’s current service fee of $275,000 (inc GST).
They say that timing in life is everything, and that certainly applied to the purchase of Vinrock from the Rosemont Stud draft at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
Much to the surprise of Laurie, who purely on his prospective price point had removed the striking son of stakes-winning mare Girl Gone Rockin’ (Redoute’s Choice) from his provisional shopping list, Lot 253 failed to meet the reserve price set by Anthony Mithen and his team.
At that point, Laurie moved swiftly to secure a colt he had originally valued in the $500,000 range.
“We had taken him off our list and didn’t get his X-rays done because I assumed he would be out of our price bracket,” Laurie revealed.
“I was very surprised when he was passed in, so we looked at his x-rays straight away and he was as clean as a whistle. We soon learned Rosemont wanted $300,000 for him and I was bidding on other horses in the auditorium at the time, so I quickly asked Tim to get onto ‘Mitho’ and do the deal.
“It’s lucky we moved as fast as we did, because I think Damon Gabbedy was down at the Rosemont barn about five minutes later trying to buy the horse on behalf of the McEvoys. So we were fortunate to come away with him, and I’d say he’s already probably worth a fair bit more than his purchase price.
“If he can win a Group 1 with him, he’ll obviously be worth a great deal more but we’re certainly not thinking about that just yet. He’s got a great group of owners including the Mustica family, who also owned Portland Sky and Coleman when he was with us. They love their racing so whatever he does I’d be pretty confident the colt won’t be going to stud any time soon, which is obviously great news for us.”