Group 1 winner Rothfire had his first public appearance in readiness for the Brisbane Winter Carnival, with a dominant trial win at Doomben on Tuesday morning.
The four-year-old was one of many star Queensland gallopers that stretched their legs throughout the morning, with the likes of stablemates Startantes and Prince of Boom joining Rothfire, while Tony Gollan stepped last year’s Kingsford Smith Cup winner Vega One out for the first time since his runner-up performance in the Stradbroke Handicap.
As is often the case, Tony Gollan and Rob Heathcote had the majority of runners throughout the course of the morning, but all eyes were on the 2020 J.J. Atkins winner.
Rothfire stepped out in the fifth heat of the morning over 1000m, putting his rivals to the sword in a time of 57.44s and a Last 600m sectional split of 33.84s.
The gelding is expected to resume on April 30 in the Victory Stakes, before more Queensland Group 1 targets beckon throughout May and June.
Rothfire ..
..
57.44 /33.84
Clearly fastest of the session thus far….@RadioTABAus
Victory Stakes first-upApril 30..@BarsbyChris calling .. pic.twitter.com/2TyuCh3J4w
— STEVE HEWLETT
(@stevejoseph69) April 11, 2022
Heathcote also saddled up Startantes and Prince Of Boom in Trial 11, with the pair filling the minor placings behind the Chris Anderson-trained Rubiquitous.
Since resuming this preparation, Prince Of Boom has won both of his races, including the QTIS Jewel 3YO (1200m) on the Gold Coast at his most recent outing.
Startantes is coming off a winless yet successful Sydney Autumn Carnival campaign, which saw her fall agonisingly short in the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on February 26.
Both three-year-olds are expected to race next in the Listed Mick Dittman Plate (1110m) at Doomben on April 23, before potential Stradbroke Handicap berths beckon.
While on the Stradbroke, last year’s runner-up Vega One had his first gallop since that race, but he was given a very quiet time.
The Gollan-trained gelding suffered a near-career-ending injury, so it has been a slow and steady recovery period for him.
Vega One went around in the third heat of the morning, finishing well back in the field behind the likes of Profit, Salateen, Acrobatic and The Big Goodbye.
Listed racing heads to Eagle Farm this Saturday for the Daybreak Lover for three-year-olds over 1400m, where the unbeaten Green Belt is expected to start favourite for Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr.
That stable is expected to have a strong hand once again during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, with boom horse Ayrton expected to return to Queensland.
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