Eleven Eleven to add more success to Smith’s nurtured ‘Alice’ family
Friday’s Manikato Stakes beckons before Champions Sprint and Magic Millions mission for Hickman-trained sprinter
Greg Hickman is firmly focused on making it four Magic Millions wins in succession with his improving sprinter Eleven Eleven on the Gold Coast in January, but first the Sydney trainer has two Group 1 races in Melbourne in his sights for the talented son of Fastnet Rock (Danehill).
Eleven Eleven galloped at Moonee Valley yesterday for the first time ahead of Friday night’s Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), his first start in Melbourne and first run since the death of his influential dam Smokin’ Alice (Smoke Glacken) in August.
One of Edinburgh Park principal Ian Smith’s top-producing mares – she also provided the Wingham studmaster with his maiden $1 million yearling – the US-bred Smokin’ Alice had to be euthanised after succumbing to prolonged feet issues.
“She had some major issues with her feet and, unfortunately, it’d been ongoing for a few years and she had to be humanely destroyed,” Smith told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“I have plenty of good stock coming through (from the family); they’ve all produced nice foals this year, so I am sure there will be plenty of others coming through with similar bloodlines.”
The Magic Millions Cup (RL, 1400m) winner for the past two years, and declared the winner of the 2020 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) upon the disqualification of Alligator Blood (All Too Hard), Eleven Eleven finished third to Apache Chase (Better Than Ready) in the Kingsford-Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) in May during a brief Queensland winter campaign.
Hickman confirmed Eleven Eleven was in line for a two-start campaign in Victoria; the Manikato Stakes and the Champions Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington on the final day of the VRC carnival.
After which he will proceed to the Gold Coast with the January 14, Magic Millions day already circled in the calendar by Hickman.
“One hundred per cent, I’d love to win four of them (Magic Millions races),” Hickman said yesterday.
“They’re restricted sort of races and I’m not trying to be smart, but they’re a little bit easier.”
Eleven Eleven won a Randwick barrier trial last month, an indication that the best may yet still be ahead for the horse, and Hickman was happy with the way the six-year-old galloped yesterday, working home his last 400 metres in 24 seconds flat.
“I thought it was good [work] for his first time around here. He did everything right, he floated a little bit, but he got on all his right legs, so (jockey) Damian Lane was very happy with his work,” the Group 1-winning trainer said.
While Lane was in the saddle yesterday, Hugh Bowman will ride Eleven Eleven on Friday night, with the gelding drawing barrier seven in the field of 14 plus four emergencies.
Hickman believes he made the right call to send the horse to Melbourne rather than have Eleven Eleven resume in the Sydney Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) last Saturday.
“The Sydney Stakes (first-up) was going to be a strong race and sometimes a change in environment helps horses, too, so going around the other way (anti-clockwise) is a little bit different and there’s another race at the end of the (Victorian) carnival, 1200 metres down the straight, you don’t often get the chance to run them in Group 1 races,” the trainer said.
Eleven Eleven took six starts to win his maiden, which came as a late season two-year-old at Kembla Grange, but he then won a further two races in succession, putting him on a path towards the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas, which was awarded to him after Alligator Blood’s drug irregularity.
“He was a bit a bit dumb and wanted to do it his way, but now he’s smartened up a bit and he wants to work with us,” Hickman said of Eleven Eleven’s improvement.
It is likely Hickman will instruct Bowman to be positive out of the barriers on the $15 chance.
Paulele (Dawn Approach) is the $3.30 favourite ahead of Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) and Coolangatta (Written Tycoon).
“We haven’t really sat down and said ‘this is what we’ll do’, but I think he’ll hold his position and hopefully we can just be off the pace behind them,” Hickman said.
“It seems to be the way it has panned out in previous years.”
Edinburgh Park’s Smith, meanwhile, can console himself by the fact he has invested heavily in the extended family of Eleven Eleven.
Nothin’ But A Dream (First Defence), a half-sister to Smokin’ Alice, is the dam of Group 2 winner and Aquis Farm’s first season sire Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock), while another half-sister, Alice’s Smart (Smart Strike), has produced the stakes-placed Miss Wonderland (Snitzel) and Spencer (Pierro) for Smith at his Wingham property on the NSW Mid North Coast.
Smith will offer an Exceed And Excel (Danehill) colt out of Nothin’ But A Dream at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January as will a Written Tycoon (Iglesia) filly out of Quiet Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), a US Grade 3-placed daughter of Quiet Alice (Quiet American), herself another produce of grand broodmare Darling Alice (Northern Flagship).
Alice’s Smart’s Zoustar (Northern Meteor) colt will be offered at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in April while a filly by Dundeel (High Chaparral) and first foal out of Ludicrous Mode (Snitzel), herself a daughter of Nothin’ But A Dream, will go through the Gold Coast sales ring early next year.
“There’s also a Star Witness yearling filly out of Wonderbabe, who is also a daughter of Alice’s Smart, so there’s five from the family (at Edinburgh Park),” Smith said.