Spring is in the air as The Instructor returns in The Rosebud
Talented Waterhouse and Bott-trained colt joined in Listed event by stablemate Introducing
Spring takes a tantalising leap at Rosehill today as some potential stars of the nation’s three-year-old crop take their next steps, with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable holding some modestly-bought trump cards on the early path towards highlights such as the Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
The day’s feature, The Rosebud (Listed, 1100m) has drawn a field high in quality, if not quantity, with five of the eight starters resuming, including Waterhouse and Bott’s two colts – Blue Diamond Preview (C&G) (Listed, 1100m) winner The Instructor (Russian Revolution) and Introducing (Trapeze Artist).
The Instructor and Introducing kicked off among top–class – and more expensive – company as autumn two-year-olds. That form hasn’t put them near the top of the market for the Golden Rose at Rosehill on September 23 – currently headed by Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) quinella, Shinzo (Snitzel, $4.50) and Cylinder (Exceed And Excel, $8) – but co-trainer Waterhouse said that could change after today, with her pair ready to blossom at three.
The Instructor, bred by Queensland’s Lyndhurst Stud from an eight-start maiden mare by Denman (Lonhro), was bought by the stable and First Light Racing from the breeders draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale for $230,000. Meanwhile, Introducing was among the less costly purchases of James Harron Bloodstock’s Colt Partnership at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last year, bought from the Edinburgh Park Stud draft for $380,000.
Kicking off in Waterhouse-Bott’s Melbourne stable, The Instructor followed a comfortable Pakenham debut win by taking the Blue Diamond Preview for colts and geldings by more than a length, before leading and fading to eighth over 200 metres longer in the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). The colt won a Warwick Farm barrier trial before running a narrow second in another at Rosehill last month.
Introducing debuted with a heavy track Warwick Farm maiden win in February before running fourth and fifth at level in the Pago Pago Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and Kindergarten Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) respectively. He’s tuned up with two barrier trial wins, at Rosehill and Canterbury.
Last night, bookmakers had The Instructor second favourite at around $4.60 and Introducing at $6.50, behind Ciaron Maher and David Eustace’s filly Tiz Invincible (I Am Invincible, $2.50), a $550,000 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale buy who had two starts at two for a fourth in Canberra’s Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and a length-and-a-quarter second in the Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
“There’s not much between our two,” Waterhouse told ANZ Bloodstock News. “They’re both talented horses, both working extremely well, both trialled well, and they’ll both run very good races.
“The Blue Diamond didn’t quite work the way we wanted with The Instructor, but I like the horse very much, and I’ve liked him from day one. The Russian Revolutions are all like that – very honest, lovely, talented horses.
“And Introducing has come back from his spell really nicely. Hopefully they’ll run one-and-two, but don’t ask me in which order.
“Hopefully they’ll go through to the Golden Rose, and possibly the Caulfield Guineas, depending how good they end up being. This race will give us an indication.
“It’s very exciting; I love the spring. I love seeing the two-year-olds coming out and seeing what the new three-year-olds do. This is the exciting time of year where Wednesday or Saturday racehorses can suddenly turn into Group 1 horses.”
Tiz Invincible, bred by Phoenix Thoroughbreds from moderately-performed British import Amuletum (New Approach), was last night a dominant favourite for The Rosebud despite failing to win in her first campaign. She warmed up with a length-and-a-quarter Warwick Farm maiden trial win, and will jump from gate one today under James McDonald.
Chris Waller’s filly Cigar Flick (Churchill) was at $5 as she seeks to bring her sire his first Australian black-type success. A winner of one from four in her two-year-old campaign, the Ingham homebred impressed first-up against males over 1100 metres at Randwick, squeezing through on the fence late on to score by half a length. Jason Collett retains the mount today for her first run in a month.
“She’s trained on well. We’ve held her back, otherwise she’d be over-raced by the time the big fillies races come around. I think she’s in line for some better races, this is obviously one of them,” Waller said on social media, indicating the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) could be on her radar, along with the Golden Rose.
“Her demeanour’s pretty good. She’s not a hard-going horse. She’ll at least get 1400 metres.”
Godolphin runner Roussillon (Exceed And Excel, $9) could be expected to improve third-up from a spell. He reappeared for the spring as a gelding at Gosford last month and won commandingly as a two-year-old against older horses. He was then well supported on July 29 before settling back and falling victim to Moonee Valley’s heavy on-pace bias that day.
Waterhouse and Bott also hold two key chances in the longer three-year-old race of the day at Rosehill, the programme-opening Inglis Pink Bonus Handicap (1300m) in top-weight and second favourite The Little Pumper (Shalaa), who’s gone to another level since a winter gelding operation, and the promising Ganbare (Maurice).
The Little Pumper is another three-year-old who is thriving after being gelded over the winter, and he was last night a $3.30 second favourite for today’s opener, behind Waller’s Caballus (I Am Invincible, $2.10), the handsome $1 million-dollar colt, who won at his second start over 1100 metres at Randwick on July 29.
Bought for just $120,000 from Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, The Little Pumper debuted with a fourth in Listed class in December, returned to Randwick for a second over 1200 metres, and was sixth of seven as favourite in Militarize’s (Dundeel) Canterbury maiden in February. After meeting the scalpel, he resumed with a two-length Canterbury midweek maiden win before scoring by a length in Saturday class at Randwick.
Ganbare, a $260,000 Inglis Classic purchase out of quadruple Sydney-winning Waterhouse-trained mare Mardi (Redoute’s Choice), was tried in strong company last autumn after winning at Canberra on debut at long odds-on. He was a creditable two-length seventh in the rich Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m), pushing home well after dropping far out of contention from a wide gate. He was eighth on a soft track in the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) before running sixth in Flemington’s VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m).
“We do have a big opinion of him. He was very mentally immature last time, when he was still a baby. But he’s developed and come back really nicely,” Waterhouse said of Ganbare, who’s had two barrier trials and remains a colt, unlike his stablemate and rival today.
“The Little Pumper has come back very well. He was just immature before really, and a bit wayward but nothing major, but gelding appears to have done the trick, as it does for most horses. After all, only a handful of horses make stallions. You want the horse to concentrate and be able to be a racehorse. Trying to find a stallion is like trying to find a diamond on Bondi Beach.”
Another to have felt the surgeon’s gear change is Fireburn’s (Rebel Dane) younger half-brother Kintyre (Hallowed Crown). From the same Gary Portelli-Laurel Oak Bloodstock combination, Kintyre tried and failed in the deep end graced by his Slipper-and-Sires winning sibling a year earlier, and was gelded after his seventh in the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m).
However, his previous fighting win in good company in a Newcastle two-year-old handicap, and his post-gelding resumption at the same track for a length second over 1300 metres, has encouraged Portelli that Kintyre could be ready to live up to his illustrious family this spring.
“He was pretty hard to deal with as a colt,” Portelli said. “Just leading him onto the track was a two-man job. But now he’s a much more relaxed horse. He’s very athletic and strong, and gives the impression he’ll be better over a bit of ground. This 1300 metres might be just what he needs before we start stepping him up in distance.
“We’ll know more after today but I’m thinking he could develop into a Spring Champion Stakes horse, over the 2000 metres. His sister has gone on to do well over 2000 metres and 2400 metres, so hopefully he might too.”
Waller is warm on the prospects of Caballus, who turned heads as an Inglis Australian Easter Yearling with an eye-catching, athletic walk untypical of I Am Invincible’s stock, and was duly bought for $1 million by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier. The favourite has McDonald aboard from barrier three.
“He won really well last start, and I think he’s pretty handy,” Waller said. “He could be a Guineas type of horse, so 1300m is a perfect stepping stone for him.”