Rich rewards await Closer To Free in the Blue Diamond
Danny O’Brien is already reaping the rewards of a more streamlined approach to his business, and after an impressive start to the autumn carnival the in-form trainer is hoping his polished performer Closer To Free (Street Boss) can deliver another diamond display in Victoria’s premier race for juveniles.
Fresh from celebrating stakes success with his upwardly mobile filly Sass Appeal (So You Think) in last Saturday’s Desirable Stakes (Listed, 1400m) at Flemington, O’Brien understandably had a pep in his step as he oversaw Closer To Free’s final gallop on Tuesday morning ahead of the colt’s bid four days later to add the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) to his recent win in the Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (Gr 3, 1100m).
Mick Dee, who was aboard Closer To Free when the pair lowered the colours of the short-priced Prelude favourite Guest House (Home Affairs), will aim to continue their fruitful partnership at Caulfield on Saturday and extend his recent dominance of the Blue Diamond, having previously piloted Devil Night (Extreme Choice) and Little Brose (Per Incanto) to victory in 2025 and 2023 respectively.
Perhaps surprisingly, given both the relative comfort of his win that day and his superior raceday manners, Closer To Free still sits just behind Guest House in the early Blue Diamond betting markets, which are led by unbeaten colt Big Sky (Bivouac).
However, given the high esteem in which he clearly holds Closer To Free, you get the distinct impression that O’Brien – who won the Blue Diamond with globetrotting sprinter Star Witness (Starcraft) back in 2010 – wouldn’t swap his young charge with any other runner in the race.
“He’s a really straight forward colt to train, and the way he handled the occasion on debut was very impressive,” O’Brien told ANZ News.
“That day at Caulfield he behaved like a gelding having his 20th start, rather than a juvenile colt making his first. Everything went right, and thankfully it’s been the same ever since. He’ll have his final gallop at Flemington on Tuesday morning with Mick Dee in the saddle, which should top him off nicely.
“As impressive as he was on debut, we do think he’ll improve from his first start and he’ll obviously have to in order to win a race like the Blue Diamond. He’s a big, burly colt so he’ll definitely be fitter for the run, and he couldn’t be in any better shape.
“He’s very adaptable so he doesn’t have to be ridden up on speed if we don’t draw a good gate, and he’s got a really good brain on him for a two-year-old. He does have good gate speed so we wouldn’t intentionally drag him back, but it wouldn’t be a problem if he needed to sit two or three pairs back in the run if that’s how the race panned out.
“He’s got a serious amount of race craft for a horse with only one start to his name, so he’s been easy to manage and I’m sure he won’t be overawed by the occasion.”
O’Brien’s swift move to seal a private deal with his fellow trainer Adrian Corboy following Closer To Free’s impressive Caulfield jumpout at the start of the year was motivated in part by a renewed focus on quality over quantity, with that strategy having seen him move on around 40 of his more moderate performers.
With fewer runners and more time to devote to horses capable of competing in city and stakes races, O’Brien has gradually improved his strike-rate and he currently sits inside the top seven in both Victoria’s metropolitan and statewide trainers’ premiership.
“We made a conscious decision at the end of last year to scale back our operation,” O’Brien told ANZ News.
“Previously we’d had between 120 and 130 horses in the stable, and we were finding that some of the lower-rated horses were placing a big burden on our staff. We were having to travel them far and wide just to try to get a win, so the reward for effort probably wasn’t worth it.
“It was placing a lot of strain on the business, so we’ve cut back our numbers to around 80 horses in work and it seems to be working well. We wanted to build on our quality and improve our strike rate by focusing more time and effort on our city grade horses, and the easiest way to do that was to move on some of our horses who maybe weren’t able to perform to that level.”
One horse who is undoubtedly capable of competing at an elevated level is Sass Appeal, who treated her Desirable rivals with a degree of disdain to make it three wins on the spin for her large ownership group.
The Kewney Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, March 7 will bring the curtain down on the filly’s first racing prep, with O’Brien keen to test her out in the Group 1 arena in the spring – potentially in a race like the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) over the Flemington mile.
Sass Appeal boasts considerable pedigree depth on mum’s side – her third dam Bollinger (Dehere) won three consecutive stakes races, including the Coolmore Classic (Gr 1, 1500m) in the autumn of 2003, while her fourth dam Bint Marscay (Marscay) claimed the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) ten years prior.
Allied to the filly’s natural athleticism, that premium lineage held plenty of appeal for O’Brien and persuaded him to pay $120,000 for Lot 188 from the Vinery Stud draft at the 2024 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
Despite some slightly unruly barrier manners which required correction, that investment has proved particularly sound and, should Sass Appeal extend her winning streak to four in the Kewney, the VRC might need to restock the champagne fridge in the winning owners’ bar given the size of her 45-strong syndicate.
“She’s still lightly-raced and we think there’s a lot to come with this filly,” O’Brien told ANZ News.
“She’s always looked very promising but we just had to hold her back a little, she’s a big framed filly and she also had some early issues in the barriers. So we didn’t get her to the races in the spring as we had initially intended, but that might have been the making of her. She’s gone through her grades really nicely over the summer months, and it was great to see her take the step up to stakes company last Saturday.
“We’re nowhere near finding out what she might be capable of, and hopefully she can continue to go on with it in the Kewney. We think sticking to her own sex is a much more sensible option than taking her to a race like the Australian Guineas, which is likely to attract some talented colts who are much more seasoned than her at the highest level.
“That will be her grand final, five runs is a decent enough preparation for a filly having her first campaign. If we can send her to the paddock with another stakes win under her belt, that will top off what’s already been a great prep.
“There’s plenty to look forward to with her as a four-year-old in the spring and next autumn. From our experience with So You Think progeny you don’t often see the best of them until they turn four, so we’re hoping that’s the case with her.”
On the same day as the Kewney, Sea What I See (Sea The Stars) is set to contest the Matron Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m), a race O’Brien won in 2021 with Sovereign Award (Shamus Award). Sea What I See, who previously spent 12 months on the sidelines due to a pelvic stress fracture, made a rousing return to action at the weekend when the grey mare finished runner-up in the Frances Tressady Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m).
With his high-class filly Getta Good Feeling (So You Think) also eyeing a return to the races one week later, there would appear to be plenty of firepower at O’Brien’s disposal this autumn.
“I thought Sea What I See was terrific at the weekend,” said O’Brien.
“She went into the spring after having a year off between runs, and considering that she performed very well. She had that residual fitness already, and that clearly benefitted her on Saturday. It looks like she’s in for a really good autumn prep so we’ll take her to the Matron Stakes at Flemington in three weeks’ time, and then look to step her up in trip after that.
“Get A Good Feeling had a busy spring campaign so we gave her a decent break, and she’ll have her first run in the Inglis race for three-year-olds on Australian Guineas Day.
“She’ll have a couple of runs in Melbourne and then we’ll look to take her to Adelaide for the Australasian Oaks, so hopefully we can knock off a Group 1 with her this prep. It’s a busy time of the year and there’s a lot to look forward to in the near future, hopefully we can keep the momentum going for a while yet.”