Goodwin hopes his filly is a cut above in Guineas
Lovelycut bidding to hand her trainer a breakthrough win in the Group 1
Given that Lovelycut (Ilovethiscity) was the first yearling Reece Goodwin purchased, it is entirely fitting that the cut-price filly will also mark the emerging trainer’s first foray into elite-company when she contests Saturday’s Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Caulfield.
Goodwin, who has saddled up four stakes runners for two minor placings since taking out his trainer’s licence in early 2022, has forged a reputation for reversing the fortunes of tried horses but his shrewd acquisition of Lovelycut underlines the fact that the Pakenham-based horseman is no one-trick pony.
The former jockey admits he ‘went out on a limb’ when he partnered with Bevan Smith Bloodstock to spend $50,000 on the daughter of recently-retired broodmare Handcut (Danerich) at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
While some of the country’s bigger operators might put that sort of figure firmly in the small change category, as a young upstart striving to establish himself in Victoria’s ultra-competitive training ranks it was not an insignificant sum of money at the time – particularly as he was initially only able to offload 40 per cent of his original investment to some existing clients.
However, the gamble has paid off handsomely, as Lovelycut has already banked close to $100,000 in prize-money with the promise of further riches to come. After a satisfactory two-year-old debut at Caulfield in March, she strung together back-to-back wins with an authority which suggested the flashy chestnut might move as nicely as she looks.
At that point, any thoughts of contesting a Group 1 in the spring would have been dismissed as a pipedream; but when she returned with a noteworthy second from the back of the pack behind Lofty Arch (Snitzel) in the Gothic Stakes (Listed, 1200m), those dreams began to crystallise in Goodwin’s mind.
Her effort last time in the Vanity Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) on Derby Day, when she was beaten less than two lengths, was certainly a pass mark. As the daughter of a Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner in Ilovethiscity (Magic Albert), Goodwin believes Lovelycut will handle the step up to the mile on Saturday, when she bids to turn the tables on the Vanity trifecta with Zeitung (Exceed And Excel), Matisse (Microphone) and Dominetta (Zoustar), who are all set to repose in the Thousand Guineas.
She maps to get a lovely run from barrier eight and Goodwin believes he has the right man in the saddle, with Damian Lane looking to add the Thousand Guineas to the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) crown he captured last week on Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express).
“It’s obviously very exciting for the whole team and everyone involved in the horse to have our first Group 1 runner,” Goodwin told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“It’s probably come sooner in my career than I had anticipated, and given it’s a busy time at the stable and we’re all very hands-on I haven’t had too much time to think about it. But I’m sure by the time Saturday comes around, everyone will be up and about.
“We mapped out the program at the start of the spring hoping rather than expecting the Thousand Guineas to be her grand final, and she’s done everything right so far. To have Damian commit to the ride has obviously given everyone a massive confidence boost, he’s a world-class jockey so it’s great to have him in our corner. He knows what’s under the hood and he was very happy with her run in the Vanity under the circumstances, because she was caught wide.
“We’re both pretty confident she’ll get the trip, I wouldn’t necessarily say she will be a deadset miler going forward but you only get one crack at it as a three-year-old against her own sex. She’s pretty electric and she’s usually able to conserve her energy for when it matters, so I don’t see the distance being an issue for her provided she gets the right run.”
The filly was bred by Chris Rentessis, who operates a small operation from his 50-acre farm in Euroa, some two hours north of Melbourne.
Rentessis was gifted Handcut by her previous owner after she retired from racing with a moderate record of one win from 12 starts. He sent her to Noor Elaine Farm stallion Ilovethiscity (Magic Albert), with the first foal, Appalachian, going onto win a handful of races before a repeat mating produced King Of Hastings, who would become a flagbearer for his under-rated stallion after winning six times – including the 2021 Glasshouse Handicap (Listed, 1400m) – for Team Freedman.
King Of Hastings’ innate toughness and durability was one of the main reasons Goodwin chose to invest in his sister, although had he spoken to Rentessis in advance of the sale he may never have left the Oaklands Junction complex with the filly.
“I know Chris pretty well and I’d been speaking to him about a few of his yearlings, but I hadn’t mentioned I was interested in buying this filly,” said Goodwin.
“I saw her during the inspections and I liked what I saw. She was a good sized filly, and you could tell she had plenty of scope to fill out and mature as a three-year-old, which is how it’s turned out although she’s probably still developing now. As a full-sister to King Of Hastings, we were confident she would perform at a reasonable level because the family already had a proven track record.
“Iovethiscity flies under the radar and he has very good statistics for a stallion with his service fee, so Bevan and I were keen on the filly. Funnily enough though, after we bought her and spoke to Chris, he said he would’ve talked us out of it if he’d known we were serious.
“She had a small cyst in her offside joint which required minor surgery, so we had that sorted after she was broken in by Frank Stockdale. She had a small screw inserted and hasn’t had any issues since, so I’m really glad I didn’t speak to Chris because I would’ve been kicking myself if someone else had bought her and was training her for a Group 1 instead of me.”
Goodwin is a level-headed customer but readily concedes he has occasionally allowed his thoughts to drift to the potential impact a Group 1 win would have on his operation just over two years after he saddled up his first ever runner.
The 27-year-old rode more than 100 winners during his time as a jockey but never came close to a Group 1, so to have a live chance in such a revered race so early in his training career is a real ‘pinch me’ moment for the humble horseman.
“We went out on a limb to buy this filly because I didn’t have the money or the clients to back me, so to be rewarded for that risk with my first Group 1 is quite amazing,” he said.
“Obviously we’ve had some success with tried horses, but you really need to be winning races on a Saturday to have any chance of becoming a successful stable, otherwise you’re just treading water. We’ve been able to win a few city races so far, but a lot of these older horses have been put up for sale for a reason so whilst you may have some luck with one or two, more often than not they won’t win the bigger races and you can’t really rely on them to grow your business.
“So you need to bring young horses through the stable with the potential to strike a bit of gold, which is what we’ve done with Lovelycut. If she can win or even run well on Saturday, it would be massive for the stable because as a smaller operation we really need to get some good support through the door to get where we want to be as a business.”