Portelli re-assessing spring plans for Kintyre and Encap
The Ming Dynasty looms as the next assignment for Saturday’s Up And Coming Stakes placegetters
Trainer Gary Portelli has been forced into a re-think on spring plans for Fireburn’s half-brother Kintyre (Hallowed Crown) and “Australia’s best maiden” Encap (Capitalist) after they opened an array of possibilities with exceptional performances on Saturday.
Kintyre and Encap caught the eye when second and third respectively to Godolphin’s potential spring boom colt Tom Kitten (Harry Angel) in the Up And Coming Stakes (Gr 3, 1300m) at Rosehill, on a day which shed at least some light on the new season three-year-old picture.
Connections of Kandinsky Abstract (Zoustar) said they were not disappointed with the $3 million colt’s first-up sixth in the sprinters’ San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m), just behind Godolphin’s possibly unlucky favourite Corniche (Fastnet Rock), who finished fifth, in a race won by Trilogy Racing’s unbeaten Libertad (Russian Revolution).
The Coolmore-led team behind Kandinsky Abstract were, however, left flat by Up And Coming second favourite Caballus’s (I Am Invincible) poor ninth place, with a brief spell now likely for the colt.
Portelli, meanwhile, had to hit pause on deciding the spring targets for Kintyre and Encap until after they again race each other next start in the Ming Dynasty Quality (Gr 3, 1400m) at Rosehill on September 9.
Randwick’s Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) had been the likely aim for Kintyre this preparation, a plan partly influenced by Fireburn’s last campaign. The pair are out of a So You Think mare Mull Over, whose damsire is Zabeel (Sir Tristram), and Fireburn earlier this year progressed from her two-year-old short course glories to run fourth in the ATC Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) before winning at Group 2 level in Brisbane over 2000 metres.
But Portelli is now contemplating holding Kintyre back to shorter trips, and aiming the gelding at the Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) at Rosehill on September 23.
Kintyre resumed as a gelding with a second over 1300 metres at Newcastle in July, then won over the same trip at Rosehill on August 12. Although the Spring Champion was in mind, Portelli opted to keep him to the 1300 metres of the Up And Coming rather than ask too much of him third-up, and said he had moderate expectations, reflected in his drifting from $15 to $21.
But instead of a steady, campaign-building run from behind, Kintyre found an ideal spot one off the fence midfield under Dylan Gibbons and very nearly won, being caught in the shadows of the post by Tom Kitten and in a long-head second.
“Kintyre ran enormous, and he’s going to be a lot of fun through the spring carnival,” Portelli told ANZ Bloodstock News. “But after watching his last three runs at 1300 metres, I’m a little concerned I might be aiming at something that might be out of reach in the Spring Champion.
“I don’t know yet, but his sire Hallowed Crown won a Golden Rose. The Spring Champion Stakes is still there as a possibility, but Tom Kitten is heading that way as well, and I’m mindful of the fact Hallowed Crown isn’t known for producing 2000-metre horses. By contrast Fireburn is by Rebel Dane, and while he was a sprinter his dam Texacarna, who I also trained, won up to 2100 metres and ran in a VRC Oaks.
“Kintyre’s best form at the moment is in sprints. So, is this his best distance? I’m not sure yet but we’ll know more at his next start. Plus, we could always try longer races with him next autumn.
“Unfortunately, we have to have him and Encap in the Ming Dynasty. They’re similar sorts of horses in similar class. We’ll know more about both of them after that.”
Whereas Kintyre might want shorter than first thought, Encap – who has Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winners as his sire and damsire in Capitalist (Written Tycoon) and Stratum (Redoute’s Choice) – could yet progress to 1600m, with the Caulfield Guineas a possibility.
The compact gelding rattled home when a length second at his previous run to Les Vampires (Pierro) – who led and flopped as Up And Coming favourite – then surged to the line again on Saturday, from ninth at the 400-metre mark, when a three-quarter-length third.
“Initially we thought he might make a nice Saturday class horse, but he’s showing us he’s a lot more than that,” Portelli said.
“He was unlucky on Saturday. The barrier probably beat him. He got back and just about got squashed onto the rail at the first turn by Tom Kitten, who’s a lot bigger than him, and that affected him a bit. When he got to the outside of Tom Kitten in the straight, he wanted to run away from him, so it took some riding to straighten him up.
“But he did a really good job, and his sectionals show he’s in the right grade. I’m not sure where he’ll go. He could be a Caulfield Guineas horse. He could be anything. Yes, he’s still a maiden after four starts, for two seconds and two thirds, but he’s probably the best maiden in Australia.
“I don’t know if he’d get 2000 metres. His pedigree suggests not, but the way he’s racing – class will take you a long way sometimes.”
Caballus, after an unlucky third behind Kintyre last start, enjoyed the one-one under James McDonald on Saturday, but showed nothing in the straight in finishing third-last.
“He just ran flat,” said Coolmore’s racing manager John Kennedy. “He did everything right, it was all there for him. The team checked him over and he was okay, so we were just very disappointed with him.
“He’s only still maturing, so maybe he needs a little break. We hope after a bit of a freshen up he’ll come back a bit stronger.”
The report card was less bleak for Kandinsky Abstract, despite his ostensibly underwhelming sixth place in the San Domenico on his second start, after his debut Canterbury midweek maiden win in May.
Sunlight’s brother – Australia’s equal third most expensive yearling of all time – jumped from barrier nine of ten for McDonald, a circumstance which had led trainer Chris Waller and his owners to contemplate scratching him to wait for another day.
In the event, Kandinsky Abstract was eased back to settle last, appeared to be found wanting for early speed, and could make little ground in the straight in finishing a two and three-quarter lengths sixth as the leaders came home in 33.48 seconds for the last 600 metres.
“It’s nothing we’re concerned about,” Kennedy said. “The wide draw just got to him. He gave James a very good feel, he jumped well, he just got hampered by the slower tempo at the beginning and just couldn’t accelerate in the final stages of the race. He just found himself in the wrong position.
“He likes to get taken into the race, that’s the way he is. He’s not suited when they go slow like that.
“The team aren’t terribly disappointed. We knew before the race that he was up against it, but we had to take our place. He’ll be fine. We’ll see him back at the races in two or three weeks, and he’ll probably be stepped up to 1200 metres.”
Corniche finished just ahead in fifth, with jockey Nash Rawiller citing excuses.
“He was a bit slow away and was pretty luckless from that point. Got a nasty bump there before the straight which didn’t help him,” he said after the race.
Trainer Michael Freedman was delighted with his colts Ducasse (Trapeze Artist) and Moravia (Snitzel), who were slightly overlooked in both markets. Ducasse finished fourth in the Up And Coming after a chequered passage in the straight, while Moravia (Snitzel) – an $800,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling – followed a debut Newcastle 900-metre victory with a strong-finishing three-quarter-length second in the San Domenico.
“Ducasse was a great first-up run, and was desperately unlucky,” Freedman told ANZ Bloodstock News. “Any clear air from the top of the straight and he’d have gone close to winning. He’s actually not had much luck in his three starts. Hopefully things can change.
“We’ll have a think about the Ming Dynasty, or maybe go to Melbourne. I think he’s shaping as a potential Caulfield Guineas horse.
“Moravia was terrific, going from a Newcastle maiden to Group 3 company. He’s still learning his craft and doing a few things wrong, but we’ve always had a high opinion of him. The fact he was able to step up to that league against a horse like Libertad who had more experience, was very encouraging.”
While greatly encouraged, Portelli also cautioned that at this stage most of Saturday’s runners aren’t considered the cream of the three-year-old crop.
Kintyre, Encap, Kandinsky Abstract and Corniche are currently $26 chances for the Golden Rose, with Moravia at $15 and Libertad $11. Waller’s Golden Slipper winner Shinzo (Snitzel) and Inglis Sires’ (Gr 1, 1400m)-Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) victor Militarize (Dundeel) – yet to resume for the spring – are at $4.50 and $8 respectively.
Between them is Godolphin’s Slipper runner-up Cylinder (Exceed And Excel), who returned with a narrow win in Caulfield’s Vain Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) last weekend.
Militarize heads the Spring Champion market at $3.50, ahead of King Colorado (Kingman) at $4.50 and Tom Kitten at $6. Kintyre is at $15 and Ducassse $26.