Waterhouse and Bott juveniles on show at Randwick
Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) third Prost (Snitzel) finished in front of a host of notable winners when taking out a trial over 850 metres at Randwick yesterday morning.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott–trained youngster posted a long–neck win in a heat which also featured Espionage (Zoustar), who landed the Breeders’ Plate when the pair clashed at Randwick on September 30, as well as Manaal (Tassort), winner of the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m), and Golden Gift (1100m) scorer Shangri La Express (Alabama Express).
A $650,000 Magic Millions purchase from Baramul Stud for Kia Ora Stud and his trainers, Prost is a three-quarter brother to last year’s Golden Slipper winner Shinzo (Snitzel) and Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Exhilarates (Snitzel). His yearling half-brother by Toronado (High Chaparral) sold for $325,000 at Magic Millions to TFI.
The other two-year-old heat over 850 metres went the way of the unraced John O’Shea-trained colt Linebacker (Super Seth), a NZ$160,000 buy out of Book 1 of the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale at Karaka for his trainer and Suman Hedge Bloodstock from the Haunui Farm draft.
Bodyguard (I Am Invincible), a $1.6 million colt, had to settle for second place in a heat over 1050 metres which was taken out by the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Fearless (Pierata). Fourth in the Breeders’ Plate on his debut, Fearless was a $220,000 Inglis Classic purchase for the James Harron Colts Partnership from Highgrove Stud. He is out of a winning half-sister to the dam of Starspangledbanner (Choisir).
There was further joy for the Snowdens when Deep Field (Northern Meteor) colt Counteroffensive made all to take out a heat over 1050 metres. Third on his sole raceday start to date, the $425,000 buy for China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Racing, and Trilogy Racing is a half-brother to Run Fox Run (Foxwedge), a Grade 1-winning sprinter in South Africa.
Two heats over the shorter distance of 741 metres went the way of fillies trained by Waterhouse and Bott. Gimcrack fifth Alinea (Written Tycoon) kicked clear to win easily before stablemate Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon), who finished one place in front of her in the Randwick Group 3, successfully repeated those tactics.