Royal Tribute
TRAINER: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott
RACE: Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m)
Having broken his maiden at the second start in impressive fashion, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Royal Tribute (Snitzel) will be stepped up to stakes grade today when he tackles the Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Rosehill.
The son of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) produced a promising effort on his only start as a juvenile, finishing a length-and-a-quarter runner-up to unbeaten colt Ozzmosis (Zoustar) in an 1100-metre event at Randwick, before then easily going one better at Hawkesbury on his return as a three-year-old, scoring by two and a quarter lengths under Adam Hyeronimus.
Now the colt will tackle the likes of the returning Golden Gift (1100m) and Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (Gr 3, 1100m) winner Barber (Exceed And Excel), Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) scorer Kristilli (Hellbent) and his old rival Ozzmosis in a small but select eight-runner field for the Heritage Stakes.
Bred by Kia Ora Stud, Royal Tribute was a $500,000 purchase for his trainers and Kestrel Thoroughbreds at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Raced by a syndicate that includes his breeder, he sports the yellow, white checked sash and checked sleeves of Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock.
Royal Tribute is the first foal out of the Elusive Quality (Gone West) mare Jennifer Lynnette, a Grade 3 winner in Canada and a granddaughter of Strategic Maneuver (Cryptoclearance), whose five wins in ten starts included the Spinaway Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) and Matron Stakes (Gr 1, 7f). After two seasons without a foal, Jennifer Lynnette produced a Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) colt last spring.