By Bren O'Brien
Just two and a half years after winning a G1 Blue Diamond S. with Written By, Grahame Begg looks to have unearthed another top-quality 2-year-old, with Dosh (Rich Enuff) overcoming her own wayward manners to win the G3 Darley Ottawa S. at Flemington.
Dosh's reputation as a filly of promise preceded her arrival at Flemington on Thursday and she started a $5 chance off the back of a recent speedy jump-out performance. She lived up to that reputation for speed and looked to have put the race to bed when she surged clear at the 200 metre mark.
But jockey Jordan Childs suddenly had his hands full when she took a right-hand turn toward the Flemington grandstands in the final stages. Childs regained momentum just in time for Dosh to just hold of the fast-finishing Nice For What (Shalaa {Ire}) by just 0.1l, with Butter Blonde (Choisir) another length back in third.
A black-type stamp on her ongoing pedigree page was a huge boost for Begg - who paid $155,000 for Dosh at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale - as well as the syndicate of owners involved with the daughter of Woodside Park stallion Rich Enuff.
Dosh as a yearling
"From the first time I laid my eyes on her, I thought, we have got to have her. She's out of a great family, which goes back to Bold Promise, Dear Demi, Capitalist and Merlene, it has been a great fillies' family really," Begg said.
"She is sure to be a very valuable filly in the future. A Group 3 win like that is worth a bomb."
"She is sure to be a very valuable filly in the future. A Group 3 win like that is worth a bomb." - Grahame Begg
Dosh was bred by Glenlogan Park, who stood Rich Enuff earlier in his career. She is his second stakes winner and his first Group winner.
Her grandam, Raise A Million (Raise A Crown {USA}) is indeed a half-sister to blue hen Bold Promise (Luskin Star), a Group 2 winning 2-year-old herself, who produced Group 1 winners Merlene (Danehill {USA}) and Miss Pennymoney (Brocco {USA}). Fellow Group 1 winners Capitalist and Dear Demi (Dehere {USA}) also descend from Bold Promise.
Three years ago, Begg produced another smart 2-year-old, Written By, to win a pre-Christmas race and put him away after one run, before he came back and won a Group 1 race in the autumn. He will follow a similar plan with Dosh.
"She’ll be put away. She hasn't had a long time off during her preparation. From the time she got broken in and came back into the stable, she has only had a couple of weeks off. She’ll go out, but she has done a great job. She's a doer in the stable and she weighs 510kg for a 2-year-old, which is massive," Begg said.
Dosh (red and black cap)
Narrow victory
Dosh, who surged onto the pace outside her main rival Fake Love (I Am Invincible) early, showed a rapid turn of foot to kick clear before her errant last 200 metres. Her wayward manners weren't a complete surprise to her trainer, but he was never too concerned that she might have thrown the race away, despite the narrow margin of victory.
"She did the same thing when we took her to Moonee Valley, She wanted to lay out a little bit, coming up to the winning post. She pulled out enough today to get her head across the line first," he said.
"She has shown us natural ability from the first day we started to do a bit of work with her and let he stretch her legs. She had been very professional with everything that we asked her to do."
Childs, who forged a successful partnership with now Widden stallion Written By throughout racing his career, was delighted that Dosh was able to bring her best to raceday.
"We've really liked her from day dot and she showed us a lot of ability at home and we came here confident. She has got quite a bit to learn and she is not quite there mentally as yet, but she has untapped ability," he said.
"We've really liked her from day dot and she showed us a lot of ability at home and we came here confident." - Jordan Childs
"I was just trying to keep her as happy as I could. She ran out and shortened stride and I just tried to keep her balanced and keep her going to the line the best I could. She's got a lot there and is still learning, so all things going well, she's in for a big next prep."
Making her debut for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Nice For What lost few admirers in finishing strongly for second, The half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Montefilia (Kermadec {NZ}) is bred to get over more ground, but recorded easily the best last 600 metre, 400 metre and 200 metre sectionals of the race.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott's Butter Blonde backed up her good recent win at Bendigo, to finish third, edging out Fake Love.
