The blue, white and red silks of syndicators Go Racing will be carried in feature races in New Zealand, New South Wales and Victoria on Saturday, headed by star mare Atishu (NZ) (Savabeel) in the A$1 million The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange.
The winner of last season’s Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) and Warstep Stakes (2000m) at Riccarton, Atishu crossed the Tasman this spring to join the stable of Chris Waller, for whom she won two of her first three starts including the Gr.3 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m).
Since then, the Savabeel mare has shot for the stars in the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) and the A$7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m), finishing sixth and 12th respectively.
“She started the spring in superb form, and then there was plenty of merit in her performances in the Epsom and the Golden Eagle,” Go Racing manager Albert Bosma said.
“We just rode her a little bit too handily in the Epsom. After jumping from a wide gate, Kathy O’Hara had to use up a bit too much gas early in the race. Her first sectional was one of the fastest in the race, and she just didn’t have much left at the end. She still finished only 1.8 lengths from the winner, so it was an outstanding performance.
“In the Golden Eagle, we got well back from another wide draw. Glyn Schofield said he kept running into bums all the way up the straight, and she went to the line basically untested. So it’s been a bit frustrating.
“But Chris Waller has been really happy with her. She’s come through those two races in great order, and she’s been working very well leading into this weekend.
“She’s nicely weighted in The Gong on Saturday with only 54 kilograms, and she should enjoy an ideal midfield run from barrier seven. Kerrin McEvoy has won on her before, and he’s back in the saddle this weekend. We’re looking forward to seeing how she goes.”
Atishu is nominated for the Gr.1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) in Perth on December 4, but Bosma believes that is unlikely to be on her itinerary.
“You have to give yourself as many options as possible with early nominations for those big races, but at this stage I don’t think she’ll be making that trip,” he said.
In Victoria, Atishu’s stablemate Skyman (Mukhadram) will tackle Saturday’s A$500,000 Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m). The winner of five of his 22 starts, the six-year-old has been a strong-finishing second in each of his last two appearances including the Listed Cup Day Plate (1800m) at Flemington.
“He’s beautifully weighted with 54 kilograms, and he’s been knocking on the door lately,” Bosma said. “He’s finished second in both of his last two starts, in races where the leaders were able to jog and then sprint. With a bigger field on Saturday, there should be a bit more pressure on throughout the race, and I think that’ll suit him well.”
On home soil, Go Racing’s Te Rapa contingent features the talented Loose Cannon (NZ) (Tavistock) in the Gr.2 Dunstan Feeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m).
“She’s always had enormous ability, but she’s been injury-prone and has had only 11 starts,” Bosma said.
“I think her problems date all the way back to the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) in the spring of her three-year-old year, where we went into the race very confident. She was put into the rail twice and ended up fourth, but she really should have been in the top three and right up with Avantage (Fastnet Rock).
“She spent a bit of time on the sidelines after that, and she’s had a lot of issues all the way through. Because of those issues that she’s had, we really have to chase black type every chance we get. So, even though she’s not particularly well off at weight-for-age on Saturday, we need to have a go while she’s fit and well.
“She was unplaced last start on a heavy track in the Gr. 3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m). The track was initially reported as slow, but later downgraded to heavy, and it was extremely testing. If we’d known it was as bad as it was, we wouldn’t have run her.”
Loose Cannon is trained by Stephen Marsh, who will also saddle Waimoku Falls (NZ) (Sacred Falls) in Saturday’s Herbie Dyke Stakes Noms Close 7/12 Mile (1600m). A fast-finishing fifth over 1400m on November 2, the Sacred Falls mare is expected to appreciate the extra 200m this weekend.
Meanwhile, Bosma was delighted to purchase Lot 315 from New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale at Te Rapa on Thursday. Offered by Riversley Park, the Almanzor gelding was secured by Go Racing for $70,000.
“We really, really like this horse,” Bosma said. “We had only three horses on our list for the whole sale, and he was certainly one of them.
“We’ve got a half-brother by Tarzino called Strongbow (NZ), who’s trained by Chris Waller. He made his debut at Eagle Farm in Brisbane this month and absolutely flew home from last to run second. We really think he’s a Derby horse in the making.
“The Almanzor is a lovely horse, and considering how highly we rate that half-brother, we were very keen to buy him, so it was a great result.”
