Looking Ahead puts the spotlight on runners of interest across Australia and New Zealand. Whether they are a particularly well-bred or high-priced runner having their first or second start, a promising galloper returning to the track or a horse which has trialled particularly well, we’ll aim to give you something to follow.
On Wednesday, a Snitzel 2-year-old colt debuts for Waterhouse and Bott at Kembla, where John O'Shea also resumes a high-priced colt of his own, while at Geelong, it's back to the track for another well-bred son of Snitzel for Lindsay Park.
Kembla Grange, Race 2, 2:20pm AEDT, Duck Creek Dash 2YO Mdn, $35,000, 1000m
Trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott paid $400,000 for Marsannay (Snitzel), a colt who is a half-brother to two stakes-placed horses in Lizard Island (Sebring) and Fairy Star (More Than Ready {USA}), at last year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale. It is a family which features Group 1 winner Bulla Borghese (Belong To Me {USA}), a half-sister to the dam Bourgogne (Choisir), and her Group 2 winning daughter Bound For Earth (Northern Meteor).
Marsannay as a yearling
Marsannay showed enough in a recent Randwick trial, where he led up and finished second, to suggest he is forward enough to make an impression here on debut.
Kembla Grange, Race 3, 2:55pm AEDT, Mullet Creek Mdn, $35,000, 1200m
A million-dollar purchase from the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, Duty (Fastnet Rock) resumes for John O'Shea having had just one start as a 2-year-old, when beaten 3.4l in a fairly strong mid-week maiden at Canterbury. This colt has had a couple of trials leading into this campaign, the latest at Randwick where he closed well to finish second.
Duty as a yearling
He holds the sort of pedigree you expect of a colt of his pricetag, being out of a stakes winning Encosta De Lago mare, Risk Aversion, who has already produced one winner. Risk Aversion is a three-quarter sister to stakes winner Order Of The Sun (Encosta De Lago) and half-sister to Shania Dane (Danehill {USA}) and Scintillation (Danehill {USA}) as well as to the dam of Group 1 winner Summer Passage (Snitzel).
Geelong, Race 2, 4:15pm AEDT, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Mdn, $35,000, 1109m
Palacio Musico (Snitzel) had just one run at his first campaign for Lindsay Park, finishing fourth back at Pakenham in September and resumes here of a strong Flemington jump-out win, where he missed the start, circled the field and went on to win well. That sets him up well to break his maiden here.
Snitzel, sire of Palacio Musico
He was a $500,000 purchase for his trainers from the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, being out of the Group 2 winner Palacio de Cristal (Encosta De Lago), who has already produced the Group 2 placegetter Palacio Vecchio (Fastnet Rock). This colt's grand dam is the Group 1 winner Crystal Palace (NZ) (Palace Music {USA}), herself a sister to triple Group 1 winner Naturalism (NZ).
