‘If he brings his top form he’s going to be really competitive’
Attrition set to shoot for Group 1 glory in Saturday’s Northerly Stakes
Ballarat trainer Mitch Freedman believes a long time to settle into Perth has Attrition (Churchill) primed to continue his Coolmore shuttle sire’s strong recent run with a second Australian top level success in Saturday’s Northerly Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m).
Local horses have dominated Ascot’s three Group 1s in the recent past.
Over the last seven years and 21 editions of those races, only five had been won by eastern states raiders – and all of those in Western Australia’s feature sprint, the Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
But this season the first two elite pins of the Pinnacles carnival have fallen to the visitors, with Port Lockroy (Better Than Ready) lifting the Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and Overpass (Vancouver) snaring his second straight Winterbottom.
Attrition is one of five contenders in the 16-horse field who’ll strive to make this year’s treble an eastern clean sweep, in Australia’s last top–level race of the year.
Freedman is warm on his chances, and the five-year-old may be even better positioned to succeed than were Port Lockroy and Overpass.
All eastern horses competing at the Perth carnival arrived at the same time, on the flight chartered by RacingWA eight days before the Railway. This means Attrition and his fellow visiting Northerly rivals will have had 22 days to acclimatise to Perth’s often trying heat.
Freedman has taken the chance to give his stallion a barrier trial, at Belmont on November 25, even if he only ran fourth of four behind another easterner, the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald nine-year-old Numerian (Holy Roman Emperor).
And, after a rounding-out gallop at Lark Hill on Tuesday morning, Freedman is confident his easterly charge is ready to blow hard against the westerlies in the Northerly.
“He seems to be going really well,” said Freedman, who’s been back in Perth since Sunday after supervising Attrition’s early days there.
“He’s been here for more than three weeks now. The weather’s actually been pretty kind to us really, with not too many really hot days, but in any case he’s acclimatised really nicely to his environment and is enjoying himself.
“We gave him a barrier trial to clean up his wind, and then he galloped really well on Tuesday morning.
“So I’m confident he can be running well. If he brings his top form he’s going to be really competitive.”
Attrition became the first elite winner for the young Freedman, and the first in this country for Churchill, in taking out last year’s Toorak Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) at Caulfield.
Injury then scuppered his autumn campaign, but he regained his finest form two runs back in winning Rosehill’s Hill Stakes (Gr 2, 1900m). It was a tough, grinding effort worthy of his name, with Attrition sitting second in something of a death seat, then tasked with the job of taking the field up to a runaway leader before holding off the late challenge of Kovalica (Ocean Park) to score by 0.24 lengths.
Attrition followed that with a last-start fourth at the same track in the Five Diamonds (1800m), 1.51 lengths behind winner Pericles (Street Boss), when cramped for room in the middle of the ruck and checked in the concluding stages.
“I thought he was super in the Five Diamonds,” Freedman told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He didn’t have a lot of luck getting through them that day, but I thought he still performed well.”
Attrition is in a battle for favouritism as he strives to become the first eastern raider to win the Northerly since Stratum Star (Stratum), trained by Darren Weir, in 2016 – when the race was still known as the Kingston Town Classic.
Bookmakers on Tuesday had him a $5 second-favourite behind local hope Storyville (Overshare) at $4.80.
Two other easterners sat next in Chris Waller’s Democracy Manifest (Flying Artie) at $6 and Ciaron Maher’s Light Infantry Man (Fast Company) at $6.50, with another local Super Smink (Super One) at $8. Rounding out the visiting quintet, Maher’s Socks Nation (Sioux Nation) was $11, with Numerian $15.
Should Attrition succeed it will extend a strong run for Churchill, who’s just left for Coolmore Ireland on Monday after his sixth shuttle season in Australia, at a slightly reduced $19,800 (inc GST).
With four Australian crops running, the ten-year-old quadruple Group 1 winner has steadily risen to his current standing of 38th on the general sires’ list, up from a finish of 56th last term.
He had a personal best four stakes-winners in this country last season – Attrition and three Listed victors in First Immortal, More Felons and Imperialist. Attrition is his sole black type success this season, although Robusto came close when second in Saturday’s Festival Stakes (Gr 3, 1500m) at Rosehill.
In the northern hemisphere, however, Churchill has had six stakes winners since September 14.
They’re topped by American three-year-old filly Poolside With Slim, who won Keeneland’s Valley View Stakes (Gr 2, 8f) in late October, before a third in another Grade 2 last Friday, aptly enough at Churchill Downs.
Even more fittingly, one of the stallion’s sextet of black type winners came in the Churchill Stakes (Listed, 1m 2f) at Newcastle, UK, last month – named after the politician, not the horse. It was won by his four-year-old entire The Foxes, raced by the Thai-based King Power organisation, and titled after the nickname of the English Premier League club they also own, Leicester City. The Andrew Balding-trained four-year-old will take his chance in the Hong Kong Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Freedman said he was a fan of the stock of Churchill, who had the second-top lot at the recent New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run sale.
“I’ve got a few of his in the stable, and won a few races with them,” said Freedman, who had a career-best 46 winners at 16.5 per cent last season.
“He’s had a good few weeks on the track and at the breeze-up sales, so he’s a good stallion, I think.”
Churchill had two lots sold, both to Hong Kong interests, at the NZB Ready To Run sale. A colt from Riverrock Farm became second-top lot when bought for NZ$775,000 by Patella Bloodstock, while a gelding from Leanach Lodge went to Magus Equine for NZ$375,000.