Colt king pounces on Debutant chance Aardvark
Super quick Capitalist colt set for his first start in Harron’s silks at Caulfield
Under different circumstances Aardvark (Capitalist) would have been heading to the Gold Coast this week as a possible sales-topping two-year-old, but instead he’ll race in tomorrow’s Magic Millions-sponsored Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield.
The juvenile was a member of trainer Troy Corstens and Dean Harvey’s Baystone Farm trading partnership and undoubtedly would have been a star attraction at next week’s Magic Millions 2YOs In Training Sale, but such were the colt’s blistering jump–outs, a transaction has already taken place, and tomorrow’s Listed race is on the agenda.
Aardvark, a Magic Millions graduate bred by Highgrove Stud’s Ron Gilbert and purchased by Corstens and Harvey for $240,000 in January, will sport the colours of James Harron Bloodstock in the Debutant Stakes, won last year by leading Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) contender King’s Gambit (I Am Invincible).
He won a Flemington jump–out over 800 metres on September 28, putting a margin on Debutant Stakes rival Renege (Impending), before backing it up with a decisive victory in a jump-out on October 6 with Craig Williams in the saddle and he has been booked on the colt tomorrow.
Corstens revealed that Harron had been monitoring the progress of the promising colt, who is by the agent’s Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner and Newgate Farm sire Capitalist (Written Tycoon).
“James Harron has got a very, very close association with Capitalist and he’d been speaking to Dean and watching Aardvark. When he saw that we were going to put him through the Magic Millions two-year-old sale, he was quite keen [to buy into] the horse,” Corstens told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“I am basically training the horses up and getting them going, so I leave those decisions [to sell or not to sell] to Dean, but I think it was a pretty good opportunity and the horse also stays in the stable.”
Not only has Harron’s colts partnership joined Corstens’ Flemington Bloodstock and Harvey in the syndicate owning Aardvark, but his Queensland breeder Gilbert also bought back in – at a significantly higher value than what he was sold for about nine months ago.
“Ronny has also been following him the whole way through and Pete and Michelle McMahon have also bought in and Pete broke the horse in, so he’s come a full circle,” the Group 1-winning trainer said.
“Right from day one, he was one of those horses where there was no fuss, nothing’s ever an issue for him, he’s got a great attitude. He has always just been there and he’s always been a very nice colt.”
If Aardvark was able to win the Debutant Stakes, it would deliver Harron’s powerful colts group its third two-year-old stakes win this season, following up Espionage’s (Zoustar) victory in the ATC Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) and Bodyguard’s (I Am Invincible) triumph in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed, 1000m) and Corstens isn’t ruling out a hat-trick.
He was $6 into $5 third favourite when markets were released for the Debutant Stakes yesterday behind Coleman (Pierata) ($2.60) and First Settler (Written Tycoon) ($4.60).
Corstens is confident, but also wary of the opposition Aardvark will clash with first-up at Caulfield.
“Craig Williams has done a lot of work on him and he really likes the horse. I think there’s a boom on Matt Laurie’s horse [Coleman] – I watched his trial and he was highly impressive,” he said.
“Phillip Stokes’ horse [Next Pay Run] looked nippy in her trials, so there’s no easy stakes races, that’s for sure, but he is a really nice colt who I think has got a very bright future.”
Despite the absence of Aardvark from next Tuesday’s sale, Baystone Farm will have a draft of three at the Magic Millions, including an impressive Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) half-brother to Group 3 winners Bull Point (Fastnet Rock) and Siege Of Quebec (Fastnet Rock).
The Corstens-educated colt won a jump out at Flemington last Friday and he is set to breeze-up on the Gold Coast this week in front of domestic and international buyers.
“He was crook on the day of the breeze [at Seymour] and I didn’t realise. He has got a ripping attitude and I took him to the breeze-ups and he had a temperature of 39.2 when I got him home,” Corstens said.
“But in saying that, I trialled him on Friday and he won his trial. We got him over a little virus and I said to Dean, ‘Look, I think we need to trial this horse because I am sure he’s going to trial up to our expectations’ and he won his trial nicely and he will also breeze on Friday on the Gold Coast.”
Corstens praised the sales companies for allowing he and Harvey to trade into the two-year-old market either through auction or privately.
He said: “We still have some nice horses going up there, a really good Brazen Beau colt who breezed well and also won a trial on Friday, so there’s not going to be any shortage of nice horses coming through Baystone at Magic Millions.”