Freedman out to strike again after ballistic start to the season
Fresh from his finest season – and following a ballistic start to this one – Michael Freedman has a power packed hand for Randwick on Saturday where he will launch a spring stakes assault set to raise his trajectory still further.
Freedman went solo three years ago on splitting from brother Richard, starting his stable with his share of the partnership’s horses and a range of purchases at the yearling sales of 2022.
The fruits of that shopping spree are now clearly on show – a clutch of new four-year-olds Freedman hopes will help him continue some powerful numbers of late. In addition, his star three-year-old also resumes on Saturday.
Freedman had 66 wins last season at 19.7 per cent – an almost identical strike–rate to his 47 wins in 2022-23. They included 12 stakes wins, with a Group 1, two Group 2s and four Group 3s.
His black–type dozen dwarfed his old personal best of two, through eight prior solo seasons in Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong. It also matched the entire haul from almost four seasons in tandem with his brother.
This season Freedman has exploded from the gates, with a strike rate of 35.7 per cent. Admittedly it’s from a small sample size – five wins from 14 runners – but for the man who has a relatively limited 55 boxes at Randwick, things are tracking superbly.
On Saturday, four of those horses he acquired as babies in 2022 are set to resume at Randwick, where warm spring sunshine is forecast for the return of Group 1 racing.
Mumbai Muse (Zoustar) and Blanc De Blanc (I Am Invincible) are acceptors for the fillies and mares’ Toy Show Quality (Gr 3, 1100m). Stallion Ducasse (Trapeze Artist) will contest the Show County Quality (Gr 3, 1200m). And promising Listed winner Panic (Time Test) opens his campaign in a Benchmark 78 (1200m).
While those four-year-olds are expected to fly the stable’s flag in strong style, Freedman’s headline act will be three-year-old Manaal (Tassort), with much expectation centring on her return in the fillies’ Silver Shadow Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
The Emirates Park homebred, selected from the paddock as a yearling by Freedman, highlighted a stellar crop for that stud’s stallion, standing at Newgate, in Tassort (Brazen Beau), runner-up on the first-season sires’ table.
Manaal won three of six starts at two, from the fillies’ season-opener of the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) to autumn’s Sweet Embrace (Gr 2, 1200m), before her triumphant ascension to the top in Randwick’s Sires’ Produce (Gr 1, 1400m).
She ran a heroic 2.3 length fifth in the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), when forced to settle second-last from the widest gate of 16, and finished her season with a fourth in the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), on a Heavy 10.
Bookmakers on Friday had Manaal favourite at around $2.80 for her resumption – where she will jump from gate four under Jason Collett – as she embarks on a campaign likely encompassing the Princess Series of the Silver Shadow, the Furious Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), the Tea Rose (Gr 2, 1400m) and the Flight (Gr 1, 1600m).
“She’s got a bit of improvement to come out of Saturday but she’s forward enough to run well first-up,” Freedman told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“She was able to have a nice six–week spell, she’s definitely come back a bit bigger and stronger than she was in the autumn, so hopefully that augurs well for her.”
Manaal warmed up with two 900-metre barrier trials at Warwick Farm – a fourth place followed by an 0.28 length win over Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) and Kimochi (Brave Smash).
“In the first trial, she went round on the bridle. In the second, she did a little bit more, and they were both Group level trials against older horses,” Freedman said. “I was happy with both, she’s come through the last one well, and she looks in good order.
“It’s always interesting at this time of year to see how the three-year-olds measure up. There’s the fillies we saw last season coming back, there’s others coming out of winter form, and there’s some new faces on the scene as well.
“But I can’t be happier with how she’s done. Hopefully it’s good enough.”
If the trainer and bookmakers are proven right, the Silver Shadow could be an all-Tassort, all-Freedman quinella. Michael nominated as hardest to beat another daughter of the young stallion – Ameena – trained by the southern wing of the family in Anthony and son Sam. Winner of two from four last autumn, at Bendigo and Caulfield Heath, Ameena was a $5 second-favourite on Friday.
Even before Tassort had runners, Freedman was an instant fan of the eight-year-old, who has had a fee bump off his first season of runners from $11,000 to $38,500 (inc GST).
“I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to look at some of his stock, Manaal being one of them, in the paddock as yearlings, the homebreds at Emirates,” he said. “I picked out a couple then and was fortunate enough to get Manaal.
“Tassort did a terrific job in his first season, and I believe he’s got a very good book of mares this year off the back of that. He’s very much a stallion on the rise.”
Among his four-year-olds on Saturday, Freedman has high hopes for Mumbai Muse, one of his top few 2022 buys at $525,000 from Inglis Easter in partnership with Julian Blaxland, who’s now a winner at Group 3 and Listed level.
The mare, who has got three of 11 for Kerrin McEvoy, was unplaced in three autumn runs, but Freedman said her last start 4.1 length ninth in the Arrowfield Sprint (Gr 2, 1200m) was better than it seems.
“She had a bit of an interrupted campaign last campaign but she ran really well in the Arrowfield, when she got back and blocked in the straight,” Freedman said.
“Then, she had a good spell of six or seven weeks in Queensland, which was good because she didn’t have much of a spell after last spring, and I’ve been rapt with how she’s progressed into this prep.
“She’s trialled great, and with 53 kilos from a soft draw, with the right run she should run well.”
Mumbai Muse is on the fifth line of betting at $10 in a quality Toy Show field, with Godolphin’s Commemorative (I Am Invincible) favourite at around $2.80 ahead of Joe Pride’s The Black Cloud (Shamus Award) at $3.30, Gary Portelli’s Kimochi at $8.50 and Lady Laguna (Overshare) – topweight with 61 kilograms – at $9.
Blanc De Blanc was at $34 after again suffering bad luck by drawing gate ten, casting doubt over her participation.
Raced by a syndicate headed by James Harron Bloodstock Fillies, Blanc De Blanc has drawn double figures in six of her eight starts, and missed last spring through injury.
“I’m rapt with how she’s going, but we’re giving a bit of thought as to whether we go round from that wide gate or keep her for the following week,” Freedman said.
Ducasse returns as a stallion and a $34 chance in the Show County, with longer races likely more suitable – possibly including the $10m Golden Eagle (1500m).
The $280,000 Easter buy has been on the cusp of some stallion-making success through his 11 stakes races, and broke through two runs back by taking Randwick’s Carbine Club Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) on April 6.
Despite not cracking a more important win – he’s run seventh in both the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) – connections headed by the Freedman-managed Winkurra Colts syndicate have seen no temptation to geld him.
“He’s a lovely, sensible, genuine horse, and he’s not overly big, so there was never any real need to consider gelding him,” Freedman said. “And who knows – if he could bob up and win a nice race he might find a home at stud somewhere.
“He’s drawn wide [13] and 1200 metres is probably short of his ideal trip, but if I could see him finish well, I’d be very happy seeing him go into races a bit further. The Golden Eagle would be the main target if he proved good enough.”
Star filly Joliestar (Zoustar) heads Show County betting at around $3.20, ahead of Our Kobison (Kobayashi) at $3.40.
Freedman was warmer on the chances of four-year-old gelding Panic, a $80,000 Karaka buy for Mick Wallace and Paul Moroney, who’s won four from seven including in Listed class at Randwick. He won a Warwick Farm barrier trial on August 12, beating The Black Cloud into second.
“He had a nice Queensland winter spell and I’ve been very happy with how he’s returned. He won a nice trial against quality opposition,” Freedman said. “We’ve drawn wide [12 of 12] but we’ve got James McDonald on, and if he can get a bit of luck he’ll run well first-up.
“He’s a good genuine horse, you’d like a dozen of them in your stable, and I’m looking forward to where he might be able to get to this prep.”
The Silver Shadow brings a bonus from sponsors Darley, with breeders of the winner earning a stallion nomination to Golden Mile (Astern), who’ll stand his first season at the stud’s Northwood farm this spring for $16,500 (inc GST).