Darley’s super sire continues his hot streak
Gai Waterhouse paid tribute to Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) after regally-bred filly Too Darn Lizzie surged into Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) contention courtesy of her dashing display in the Guineas Prelude (Gr 3, 1400m) at Caulfield.
Darley’s shuttle stallion left his mark on Caulfield Cup day and showcased his versatility with a stakes double achieved by Too Darn Lizzie and Too Darn Discreet, who built on her previous Edward Manifold Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) win with victory in the Ethereal Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m) for trainer Dan O’Sullivan.
The twin triumphs continued Too Darn Hot’s recent purple patch, as Europe’s former two-year-old champion colt and three-time Group 1 hero rapidly closes in on a century of winners across the globe.
“She was two darn fast,” said Waterhouse, who confirmed Too Darn Lizzie would have one more run over the Melbourne Cup Carnival before her grand final in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield on November 16.
“She’s by an amazing sire in Two Darn Hot, who is doing it in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
“She’s really settled down more, the longer she’s been in Melbourne. We brought her here on Tuesday, and I just love the way she finished off her work. I didn’t put a jockey on her, I just put the work rider on who gets on with her, and she did everything right. I love it when they tick all the boxes going into a big race.”
Too Darn Lizzie surged clear to comfortably defeated Zeitung (Exceed And Excel) by two lengths, while Geegees Mistruth (Wordsmith) finished another length away in third.
The filly was sourced by English bloodstock agent Johnny McKeever on behalf of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the renowned composer and musical theatre impresario, and his wife Madeleine.
The $1 million price tag was undoubtedly hefty but her residual value as a broodmare – given her dam Enbihaar (Magnus) was a Group 2 winner who ran second in the 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) – would move into the stratospheric range if she were to add a Group 1 to her pedigree page.
The same applies to Too Darn Discreet, who is out of the 2013 Schweppes Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Maybe Discreet (Shamardal). She was bred and is part-owned by South Australian Hall of Fame inductee David Peacock, who races her in partnership with an all-South Australian ownership base.
After cruising to the front Too Darn Discreet was notably wayward in the Caulfield straight and is still learning her craft, but her potential was there for all to see as she recorded a third straight win. The three-year-old beat Jenni’s Meadow (Brutal) by 0.4 lengths, with Femminile (Dundeel) coming home another 0.5 lengths away in third.
“It was a good, tough win,” O’Sullivan said.
“She travelled into the race like she was going to put them away easily, and then she wanted to lug in and do a few things wrong so there should be more to offer. At the top of the straight, it looked like she was going to win really comfortably, and then she just waited for them. She probably got a little bit lost, but to carry that weight and win was a good job.
“She’s shown talent right from the start, and she’s terribly well-bred. She’s always had a fair bit of attitude but whenever we asked her to do a bit of trackwork, she’s always gone on with it. She’s a bit quirky, but she’s handling these big occasions really well now and I think she’ll be better for the run over the trip. Hopefully we can straighten her quirks out.”
O’Sullivan was keen to keep his options open as he ponders whether to press on with her preparation or pull up stumps, but the Ballarat-based trainer feels her scope for improvement could see the three-year-old scale some heady heights in the future.
The victory saw Too Darn Discreet installed as the joint second favourite for the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) behind John Sargent’s precocious filly Powers Of Opal (Ocean Park).
O’Sullivan is yet to train a Group 1 winner, so the temptation to extend Too Darn Discreet’s preparation deeper into the spring is entirely understandable.
“We’re certainly considering the Oaks, especially the way she is going and how tough she is,” he said.
“This run will probably take a bit out of her, so we’ll see how she recovers. We’ll enjoy the moment today first, and think about what we’ll do going ahead.
“She has picked up two stakes races in the past month, so you’d think it’s nearly job done and she can go and have a break then come back for the autumn. But we don’t see many staying fillies at the moment, so we might just keep going.”