Probabeel to kick off Mile tilt
Group 1 winner Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) will kick off her summer campaign in Melbourne this Saturday when she contests the G3 Geoffrey Bellmaine S. at Caulfield.
She travelled to Australia last week in preparation for a three-race assignment culminating in The All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley on March 13.
“She has been there about 10 days and has settled in well. She has done plenty of travelling now, so she knows what it is all about,” trainer Jamie Richards said.
Probabeel (NZ)
“Depending on how she goes, she will either go to the G1 Futurity S. back at Caulfield on the 20th (of February) or to the G3 Frances Tressady Stakes the following week,” he said. “Then it will be The All-Star Mile on March 13.
“We haven’t been following how the public voting is going for The All-Star Mile, but I’d like to think she was up there.”
Lees targeting Randwick riches
Kris Lees will be chasing $3 million worth of prizemoney on Saturday with runners in both the R. Listed Inglis Millennium and R. Listed Inglis Sprint.
Mystic Gem (Capitalist) won on debut at Doomben on January 23 and Lees is keen to see how she matches up against a higher calibre of rivals in the Inglis Millennium.
“She has come back from Queensland in good order and I am pretty pleased with how she has come through it,” Lees told Racenet.
“It looked like a nice option up there and it proved to be the case.
“It‘s obviously a big jump from a Brisbane 2-year-old race to this but she is a nice filly.
“There is not a lot of her and she will continue to improve.”
Kris Lees (left)
Lees will also have progressive gelding The Bopper (Nicconi) take on the Inglis Sprint, off the back of finishing fourth first-up at Rosehill on January 16.
“It‘s the ideal gap to head to this race three weeks between runs and he is ready to improve second-up,” Lees said.
“He has come through the first-up run well but meets a strong race here, as it should be being a $1 million race.”
Crosshaven to tackle older horses
Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes’ constant Group-winning 3-year-old gelding Crosshaven (Smart Missile) will kick off his autumn campaign against the older horses in Saturday’s G1 CF Orr S. at Caulfield and Hayes believes he is up to the challenge.
“He might be able to get a cheap lead and be really hard to pass because he’s a tough horse,” Hayes told Racenet.
“He’s got a will to win. We’ve seen that multiple times.
“Tom and I feel that 1400 metres first-up will really suit.
“The main goal for him is the Australian Guineas and The All-Star Mile. If he can win the Orr, he might be very popular with the voters.”
Freedmans to make Diamond decision
Anthony and Sam Freedman are unlikely to have a runner in either of Saturday’s Blue Diamond Preludes and if one of their juveniles does make it to the Group 1 feature, they won’t be seen on the track until Blue Diamond day.
"I don't think we'll have a runner in the Preludes," Sam Freedman told Racing.com.
"There's really only Artorius and he might go there (Blue Diamond) but he goes straight there with a trial if he does.
"Frost Flowers, if she runs in the Blue Diamond, she won't run again before she goes there. She was quite heavily in season when beaten last time but it's hard to know how much difference it made."
Lockdown concern for Queen
Multiple Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Pierro) has faced a setback in her autumn campaign after the five-day Perth lockdown saw her scheduled trial at Belmont on Monday was cancelled.
"Hopefully we can get back to the training tracks tomorrow and we can get a good gallop into them to make up a bit for that lost trial," owner Bob Peters told Racing.com.
Arcadia Queen
"But there's no guarantee that will happen and we just have to wait to see what transpires.
"But we don't know about how this could affect flights and so on, so there's a bit to sort out yet.”
Prelude for Extreme Warrior
Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr will line up Listed Blue Diamond Preview runner-up Extreme Warrior (Extreme Choice) in Saturday’s G3 Blue Diamond Prelude as they look to strengthen their hand for the G1 Blue Diamond S.
"He's good to the point of where I am going to have to run him on Saturday to put a lid on him a bit," Price told Racing.com. "He's very well in himself. I think there is some improvement left in him.”
Northern option
Promising 2-year-old Mozzarella (Capitalist) could have booked a trip north for a juvenile feature later this month after her impressive victory over 800 metres at Riccarton.
She was having her first run back from a five-week break over the Christmas period and proved too tough for her age-group rivals in the run home.
Co-trainer Kayla Milnes was thrilled with the victory which confirmed the high opinion that she and training partner Nick Wigley have for the speedy filly, who was having just her third start on the weekend.
Nick Wigley | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Milnes will allow the filly to recover from her first-up exertions before considering her next target but does have an eye on the G2 J Swap Contractors Ltd Matamata Breeders’ S. later this month.
“She’s had a good walk in the surf here this morning (Monday) and we will see how she recovers from the race before we think about her next start,” she said.
Williams pair on target
Slave To Love (NZ) (Savabeel) and Il Affare (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}) provided trainers Peter and Dawn Williams with plenty of encouragement ahead of some upcoming Group 1 assignments when producing solid performances at Pukekohe on Sunday.
The former ran away from her rating 65 opponents over 1600 metres to register her second win from four starts while Il Affare was equally impressive when finishing close up in second over the same distance in rating 74 company one race later.
Slave To Love (NZ) | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Both horses hold nominations for the G1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks at Trentham later in March while Il Affare is also a candidate for the G1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie on March 6.
“Slave To Love has been a bit of a work in progress as she was a hard horse earlier on,” Dawn Williams said. “She wouldn’t settle in her races, but she is getting better and she is very tough.
“Il Affare has also been a bit stiff of late, although she is a natural back runner, so you can’t change her pattern and have to put up with the luck that comes your way. We’re not sure whether she will go to the Oaks as, if the Derby field falls away, that might be a better option, closer to home.”
First foal for Omaha Beach
Spendthrift Farm's three-time Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach (USA) sired his first reported foal on January 27 when a colt was born at Burleson Farms in Midway, Kentucky.
“We are thrilled with our first Omaha Beach foal and excited to have three more coming here on the farm,” said Lyn Burleson. “This colt has all the right angles and a great frame to go with it. Very athletic.”
Bred by Nice Guys Stable, the grey colt is the first foal out of the young Scat Daddy (USA) mare Two Sugars (USA), a half-sister to Graded stakes winner Calculator (USA) (In Summation {USA}) and stakes winner Arms Runner (USA) (Overdriven {USA}).
