Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Acrobat had his connections jumping through hoops at Randwick on Saturday following an emphatic debut performance to race away with the Inglis Nursery.
Acrobat was offered at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale by Coolmore with a $1 million reserve and he was passed in when bidding stalled at $950,000, but there will be no regrets in the ownership camp now.
The youngster had placed in both of his lead-up trials to provide a snapshot of his ability, but the addition of blinkers come race day proved a masterstroke and the colt raced away to score by 2.3l.
“Obviously, there’s a great group of owners in the horse and were involved in his mother (Hips Don’t Lie), who was a great racehorse. For him to do that at his first start is very satisfying and Jack Bruce and the team at Warwick Farm have done a fantastic job,” Maher said.
Acrobat, whose Group-performed brother Memphis Rocks also won at Flemington on Saturday, was ridden by James McDonald, who had given the stable a glowing report on the colt during the week.
“He came in and jumped on him on Tuesday morning and said he didn’t want to be on any other horse,” Maher said.
“He came in and jumped on him on Tuesday morning and said he didn’t want to be on any other horse.” - Ciaron Maher
“The horse had a sense of timing about him and trialled well and I thought he would improve off that, but needed a little bit more focus so we put the blinkers on and he was very good.”
Maher also said Acrobat’s ability to clear the gates quickly and race on speed was a major asset.
“These horses make their own luck and if they can race like that it’s a huge advantage.”
Acrobat coasted along behind the leader and when McDonald asked him to hit top gear in the straight he responded positively to dash clear 200 metres off the post and sail home by 2.3l.
“He’s very good and Ciaron rang me after his first trial and said he had a really nice colt we’re setting for the race,” McDonald said.
“I rode him in work on Tuesday morning with the blinkers on and sat off the other horse. He didn’t take much encouragement and was very professional. I thought he only had to break cleanly to win.”
Improvement to come
McDonald has no doubt that Acrobat, who has been cut to $17 for the G1 Golden Slipper S., will continue to develop and has all the attributes to make his mark in the best of company.
“I was pretty mindful of taking it slowly down to the gates and saving as much energy as possible. He just floats across the ground and has got a beautiful mind and a good action and will make a proper racehorse,” he said.
Acrobat as a yearling
Acrobat also has the pedigree to instil confidence in his future prospects as he’s a brother to the Listed Crockett S. winner Lake Geneva, who also ran third in the G1 Golden Slipper S. and the G1 Blue Diamond S.
Their full sibling Ennis Hill won the G3 Chairman’s S. and another brother Memphis Rock is a multiple winner and runner-up in the G3 SAJC Breeders’ S.
Their dam Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) won five races, including the G2 Reisling S. and a brace of Listed events. She is a half-sister to the five-time winner and G1 Lightning S. placegetter Azevedo (Helissio {Fr}) and to the dam of the G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint winner Splintex (Snitzel).
Runner-up to Acrobat was Ashema (I Am Invincible), who is trained by Annabel Neasham who formerly ran Maher’s Sydney operation before branching out on her own, and Mark Newnham's Mission Value (Capitalist) finished third.
