Hot trial provides Everest day preview
Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) took out a star-studded barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday, leading home a field of nine Group 1 winners and four Everest contenders.
The Tulloch Lodge filly, who will represent James Harron and owner / breeder Sir Owen Glenn of Go Bloodstock, in The Everest, shaded Group 1-winning mare Lady Laguna (Overshare) by 0.35 lengths in the 1000-metre heat, with fellow Everest contender Private Eye (Al Maher) trialling strongly to finish third, another 0.5 lengths away.
Just three lengths covered the field on the line and Rob Archibald, co-trainer of Lady Laguna, fourth-placed Sunshine In Paris (Invader) and sixth-placed Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni), said the hit-out was a stretch of the legs for his trio.
“It was just a tick-over for all three of them,” he said. “Sunshine has had the biggest spacing between runs, but she doesn’t do a huge amount in her trials anyway. It’s really to give them a really nice blow.”
A scintillating first-up winner of the Sheraco Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), Sunshine In Paris will represent the Everest slot held by her owner John Camilleri in the October 19 showpiece.
Amelia’s Jewel will head to the $5 million King Charles III Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) a week on Saturday having finished runner-up in the Tramway Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and Golden Pendant (Gr 2, 1400m) this preparation, while Lady Laguna will be targeted towards the Sydney Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on the same day.
Chris Waller’s Everest slot holder, Joliestar (Sebring), and her stablemates Zougotcha (Zoustar) and Fangirl (Sebring), were all given quiet trials and went to the line on the bridle, while Celestial Legend (Dundeel) sported blinkers for the first time, finishing a sound fifth under Blake Shinn.
There were two juvenile trials conducted at Randwick on Tuesday with Comedy, a Godolphin-owned and bred colt by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), winning one, while the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Enchanted By (Written By) landed the other.
Having the first official trial of his career, Comedy looked comfortable throughout his 740-metre heat under James McDonald, eventually crossing the line 0.8 lengths ahead of the Waterhouse and Bott-trained The Little General (All Too Hard) with the runner-up’s stablemate, Chicama (Written Tycoon), finishing a further 0.3 lengths adrift in third.
The colt is out of Group 3-placed mare Thaila (Medaglia D’Oro), making him a half-brother to Group 3 scorer Bacchanalia (Exceed And Excel) and stakes winner Aquitaine (Exceed And Excel). Further back this is the same family as Group 3 winner Zethus (Exceed And Excel) as well as Group 2 scorer Calliope (Exceed And Excel), who in turn produced 2021 Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) winner Kallos (Medaglia D’Oro).
In the previous heat, unraced filly Enchanted By defeated the Anthony Warren-trained Minks Written, who is also by Widden Stud’s Written By, by 0.2 lengths. Migaloo (Capitalist) finished a further 3.9 lengths away in third.
Pinhooked by Stonehouse Thoroughbreds for $31,000 from the Kitchwin Hills draft at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale in 2023, Enchanted By was then bought by Tricolours Racing and Syndications from the Stonehouse draft for $60,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale earlier this year.
The filly is out of dual winner The Seductress (Snitzel), making her a half-sister to three winners.