Grant excited by spring riches on show at Randwick trials
Prominent Silverdale Farm principal shares in ownership of Stay Inside and intriguing former Hungarian trainee Nancho
Currently locked down in Sydney due to restrictions in response to the outbreak of Covid-19, owner Steve Grant had plenty to keep him entertained during yesterday’s much anticipated Randwick barrier trials, sharing in the ownership of three key horses continuing their spring preparations, including Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Stay Inside (Extreme Choice), exciting juvenile In The Congo (Snitzel) and the intriguing Hungarian import Nancho (Tai Chi).
The star of the Silverdale Farm owner’s trio was unquestionably super colt Stay Inside, who after knuckling down at the start demolished his high-class opposition which included the likes of Verry Elleegant (Zed) (4th) and Kolding (Ocean Park) (6th) in the first 900-metre heat of the session, winning by more than a length in a time of 52.68 seconds.
In what was Stay Inside’s first public appearance since winning the Slipper, the performance clearly signalled that exciting times await the colt on his racing journey as a three-year-old, who wore the China Horse Club and Newgate Farm silks for the first time.
“He scared Tommy at the start and stumbled a bit and landed on his nose and picked himself up and got going and looked fantastic.
“It’s exciting where he’s headed. All indications from today’s trial are outstanding,” said Grant.
Stay Inside will trial again before he resumes in the San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) on August 28 at Rosehill, with the $15m The Everest (1200m) in October also on his radar.
Another standout two-year-old for Grant at yesterday’s trials was the flashy Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) colt In The Congo, who races in the China Horse Club colours and was the impressive winner of a Kensington maiden in May.
After travelling up on the speed, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained colt fought out his heat with Pago Pago Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) third Mazu (Maurice) and went on to win by three-quarters of a length.
“They have a big opinion of him. He travelled very nicely through the run,” Grant said.
The most exciting moment of the morning for Grant was seeing his Hungarian import Nancho make his long-awaited return.
Yet to race in Australia, prior to yesterday the German-bred six-year-old gelding had two trials at Randwick but, after suffering a soft tissue injury to the upper limb/pelvic region, was sent for a lengthy break to Silverdale Farm.
His effort to finish fifth in heat two over 900 metres showed that the time out in the Southern Highlands has done him the world of good and allowed him to properly acclimatise to life in a new hemisphere.
“He got crowded up and Hugh (Bowman, jockey) had to contain him a bit and when he got closer to the line he was able to stretch him out a bit,” Grant said.
“His recovery was quite good with the little amount of work he’s had so far.”
On the advice of an agent who had spotted him, Grant purchased Nancho from Hungarian trainer Gabor Maronka.
“He was out in an outback sort of establishment, it looked like one of those really cold backyard places,” Grant said.
In Hungary, Nancho won five consecutive races in Budapest, earning the nickname “The Hungarian Flash”, before he was then campaigned in Germany where he won the Grosser Preis von Bayern (Gr 1, 2400m) at Munich after taking a Group 3 contest over 2000 metres by seven and a half lengths.
Soon after his Group 1 triumph he was sold to Grant and a group of fellow owners he assembled and they have given him every chance of making a mark in his new home country.
“We have just gone back and taken our time and let him settle in,” Grant said, who added that when Nancho first arrived he wasn’t the easiest or friendliest of horses to manage.
“The horse wasn’t a very nice horse to be around so the guys at the farm worked with him,” Grant recalled.
“Robert (Petith, general manager) spent a lot of time with him in a round yard and on a walker with a roller on to get him to carry his head better.
“He didn’t have a great rapport with the staff but slowly they have turned him around.”
All the work done behind the scenes saw a better version of Nancho arrive back at the Anthony Cummings stable.
“He’s that typical sort of European stayer but he’s a lot nicer now he’s had time to settle in and he went back into work with a nice coat and, from where he was, he’s a totally different horse.”
Grant said what ultimately lies ahead for him this spring is still a little up in the air.
“Hugh is of the opinion he will perform best over a mile and a quarter. It will be interesting to see how he shapes up. He will trial again next friday and then go into the Winx Stakes.
“We will see how that plays out and get a handle on him once he has a couple of starts.
“We won’t count our chickens yet,” he said.