Group 1 stars trial at Warwick Farm
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained dual Group 2 winner Tiz Invincible (I Am Invincible) came home in front of a host of big-name rivals when she landed the first of two trials confined to Group horses at Warwick Farm yesterday.
A total of seven Group 1 winners took part in the two 900-metre heats with Tiz Invincible holding a narrow margin over import Buckaroo (Fastnet Rock) in the first heat. Group 2 winner Lazzago (Capitalist) hit the line well in third under a hold.
Think It Over just (So You Think), winner of the 2022 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m), edged out star mare Fangirl (Sebring) to finish fourth with multiple Group 1-winning colt Militarize (Dundeel) not asked for an effort at the back of the field.
Although the pace wasn’t frantic, they ran a slightly quicker time than the second heat, clocking 55.50 seconds, compared to 55.53 seconds for the heat won by the Annabel Newasham-trained Learning To Fly (Justify).
The exciting filly, who missed the spring after suffering severe interference and losing her rider Chad Schofield in last year’s Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), was having her second outing having finished fifth of six behind Time To Boogie (Sooboog) in a trial over 740 metres at Randwick on December 11.
With Schofield in the saddle again, Learning To Fly tracked Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Griff (Trapeze Artist) and got the upper hand late, with some four lengths back to Encap (Capitalist) in third.
The other three horses in the trial were all elite-level winners trained by Chris Waller with VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) scorer Riff Rocket (American Pharoah) edging into fourth under James McDonald, ahead of the Group 1-winning mares Atishu (Savabeel) and Espiona (Extreme Choice).