O’Shea has last laugh with Lillemor in Gai Waterhouse Classic
John O’Shea wilfully handed over stakes-performed mare Intrepidacious (Shooting To Win) into the care of Hall Of Famer Lee Freedman, but the Randwick horseman was more than happy to deny his rival the perfect start to his Queensland training tenure yesterday.
Lillemor (4 m Hallowed Crown – Polar Success by Success Express), trained by O’Shea, was declared the winner of the Gai Waterhouse Classic (Listed, 1200m) at Ipswich by the barest of margins over Intrepidacious after a blanket finish in the $150,000 fillies and mares race, in which a long neck separated the first four across the line.
O’Shea left Lillemor in the care of Gold Coast trainer Angela Plumb since her arrival in Queensland earlier last week and she was on course to saddle her up in the Gai Waterhouse.
She was ridden by Ben Thompson, who won the previous race, the Eye Liner Stakes (Listed, 1200m), aboard Snitch (Lope De Vega).
“She came up to us on Thursday, so we have been looking after her for a few days,” Plumb said.
“They sent her up in excellent order. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure (that she had won). Her old stablemate Intrepidacious ran second.
“It is a fun day with a huge turnout, and it is fantastic to be part of it.”
Runner-up Intrepidacious – the winner of five races for O’Shea before being bought by Steve Grant, Ken Lowe and Ben Kwok for $575,000 on the recommendation of agent Andrew Williams at last month’s Magic Millions National Sale – was the first runner for Gold Coast-based Freedman, who is in the midst of his latest reincarnation of a remarkable training career.
Blazing Miss (Sizzling) ran third, while Fleet Dove (Not A Single Doubt) finished fourth.
Rising five-year-old homebred Lillemor, the third stakes winner for her Twin Hills Stud-based sire Hallowed Crown (Street Sense), has now won both starts this preparation to take her record to seven wins from 17 starts and her earnings to more than $363,000.
Raced by Twin Palms Stud, Lillemor is the tenth and last foal for the late 2003 Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Polar Success (Success Express), making her a half-sister to the stakes-placed Lockroy (More Than Ready) and Polaway (Giant’s Causeway).
Polar Success, a $32,000 Magic Millions Winter Carnival Thoroughbred Sale purchase in 2002 by trainer Graeme Rogerson, was later sold at the Inglis Broodmare Sale in 2009 for $1.2 million when in foal to Bernardini (A.P. Indy).
Snitch vindicates Gollan’s conviction to deliver trainer a third Eye Liner Stakes
Champion Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan claimed his third Eye Liner Stakes (Listed, 1350m) in less than a decade yesterday, reinforcing his dominance of Queensland racing, with another rejuvenated horse who started his career interstate.
The first leg of a race-to-race double for former Victorian jockey Ben Thompson, the Gollan-trained Snitch (6 g Lope De Vega – Quaffle by Hurricane Sky) defeated Axe (Written Tycoon) by half a length, with a nose back to Right Or Wrong (Manhattan Rain) in third.
Amish Boy (Star Witness), who was caught up on the fence in another tight Ipswich finish, ran fourth only three–quarters of a length behind the winner.
Rising seven-year-old Snitch, who ran fourth in the 2019 Eye Liner, came from second last to run seventh, one and a half lengths behind winner Genzai The Wolf (Bullet Train) in a Benchmark 85 (1200m) race on May 29 at Eagle Farm, an effort that convinced his trainer that the gelding could win the Listed sprint.
“His first-up run was great, he doesn’t normally run well first-up and his work since has been terrific,” said Gollan, the fifth trainer for the gelding who started his career in Sydney.
“His owner Tony Khoury couldn’t get up here due to the Melbourne Covid situation, but we came here with a lot of confidence.
“We were obviously worried about Amish Boy, but he did a great job, this horse.
“Ben rode him beautifully and everything opened up nicely.”
Thompson said: “It’s really nice to get a feature winner on a big day.
“He loves space and once I was able to follow Really Discreet into the straight and give him plenty of room he balanced up and gave me a good kick.”
Gollan has now won three Eye Liner Stakes after Alma’s Fury (Refuse To Bend) won in 2014 and I’m A Rippa (Love Conquers All) won four years later.
“These sort of provincial sprints are always hard to win,” Brisbane’s leading trainer said.
“They’re run like (today’s race). They are fast-run races and you need a horse who can get the right run on the day and I was fortunate I had the horse who got that right run.”
Snitch, who has won ten races from 40 starts and $505,000 in prize-money, was a $100,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale graduate from the Newgate Farm draft, who was later passed in at the 2016 Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs In Training Sale.
A half-brother to champion Singapore two and three-year-old Gingerbread Man (Shamardal), Snitch is one of six winners for Quaffle (Hurricane Sky), herself a half-sister to Listed winner Golden Snitch (Unbridled’s Song). His third dam, Spyglass (Sir Sian), was also a dual Group 1 winner at 1400 metres and 3200 metres.
Quaffle died in 2016 but her last foal, the twice-winning Nishka (Wandjina), is in foal to Flying Artie (Artie Schiller) and Snitch’s sister Senorita De Vega, who was sold to Northerly Holdings for $9,500 through Inglis Digital last month, is in foal to The Mission (Choisir).