Steel Trap a landmark winner for Coolmore’s King’s Legacy
Coolmore’s first-season sire King’s Legacy (Redoute’s Choice) was provided with his first stakes winner on Saturday as the Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray-trained Steel Trap continued her progression with a win in Morphettville’s David Coles AM Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).
The juvenile filly has come a long way in four starts since being beaten over ten lengths into fourth on debut at Murray Bridge last October, racking up a handicap win and stakes placings in the Cinderella Stakes (Listed, 1050m) and Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) – all at Morphettville – prior to this weekend’s task.
Sent off the $1.80 favourite under Jamie Melham for Saturday’s Group 3, Steel Trap travelled well rounding the home bend and, once asked for full effort by her rider, found plenty to deny the front-running Brave Design (Brave Smash) by 1.6 lengths.
There was a further 3.9 lengths back to the third-placed Salty Pearl (Tagaloa).
“She’s a nice horse and one day she will want further, but she doesn’t need it yet,” the winning rider said.
“At the 200 metres I was really confident as I know the further she goes the better she gets. She doesn’t have a sharp turn of foot, but she just keeps building and building.”
Clarken was delighted with the victory post-race and told Racing.com: “She’s a bloody beauty. A Group 3 winner, Group-placed. It’s pretty cool.
“We knew she had ability and we really wanted to get her up and get her going and target the carnival, so we didn’t have to worry about shin soreness and things like that.
“She’s become quite valuable now. We’ll have to regroup and see what we’ll do with her now.”
The co-trainer revealed he was leaning towards sending Steel Trap to the paddock before setting spring targets.
“I personally would like to put her away and get her ready for the three-year-old races in the spring, but I reckon I will have a good chat with Jamie Melham and see what her thoughts are,” Clarken said.
“She’s not an overly big horse, but she is out of a Lonhro mare, and they probably take a bit of time. She will get better as she gets older.
“She can be a little bit wired. She is a chestnut filly and can carry on a bit, but we’ll get her home and worry about that later.”
Bred by Phoenix Broodmare Farm, Steel Trap was purchased for just $30,000 by Angas River Contractors Pty Ltd out of her breeders’ draft at the 2024 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.
She is the first foal out of the winning Lonhro (Octagonal) mare Lochita, herself a granddaughter of dual Group 1 winner Arborea.
A sister to Steel Trap will be sold as Lot 84 by Phoenix Thoroughbreds at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Weanling Sale on May 25.
King’s Legacy, who currently has four winners from 19 starters and has the stakes-placed duo Queen’s Evidence And Born To Be Royal, will stand for a fee of $16,500 (inc GST) at Coolmore Australia’s Jerry’s Plains base this spring.