Daily News Wrap

Rosemont buys into Extreme Warrior

Rosemont Stud has bought into the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Extreme Warrior (Extreme Choice) ahead of the colt running in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview on Tuesday.

Extreme Warrior is a half-brother to the Rosemont-raced Thrillster (Starspangledbanner), which prompted the farm’s interest in him.

“He’s a colt that is a half to Thrillster and one of the guys that was in Thrillster and Free Thrills kindly said we should be in this horse because we were in the rest of the family and that he’s a colt with a stallion prospect,’’ Rosemont's Anthony Mithen told Racing.com.

“We managed to come to terms and the other owners were happy enough to see a half-brother to Thrillster run in the Rosemont colours starting with the Preview on Tuesday.

“We’ve got Thrillster and Free Thrills at the farm. Free Thrills is in foal to Starspangledbanner and Thrillster is in foal to I Am Invincible so it’s a nice story to continue on with the family with a colt that one day could find himself at stud.

“He’s trialled really well and he looks a live chance in the Blue Diamond. He beat Dosh in a nice jump-out at Sandown last week and it’s nice to have a share in a fast one.”

Ain'tnodeeldun out of autumn

Promising galloper for Anthony and Sam Freedman, Ain'tnodeeldun (Dundeel {NZ}), will miss the autumn after sustaining an injury to his pelvis.

“I think it’s a lengthy spell,” part-owner David Kobritz of Musk Creek Farm told RSN 927’s Racing Pulse. ‘’Probably four months plus and crossed fingers and toes it is that (pelvis injury) and nothing more serious and we have him back it the spring.”

Having won two stakes races across the spring, offers of up to $2 million came for the colt but they were rejected by connections.

“When the offers came in after he won in Adelaide then in the Listed race on (Melbourne) Cup Day, we had a number of conversations with Sam and Anthony and they felt his potential probably wouldn’t be realised for six to 12 months,’’ Kobritz said.

‘’He won those races as a 2-year-old as he didn’t turn three until later in November and still had plenty of filling out and maturing to do.

‘’Weighing all that up we decided to roll the dice and keep the horse.’’

Trinder pleased with Journey

Despite being beaten as the short-priced favourite upon her return to the races at Launceston on Wednesday night, Adam Trinder was still pleased with the performance of star mare Mystic Journey (Needs Further).

“She pulled up really well and to be perfectly honest, we were really happy with her.

“As a stable we were guarded about her chances going into the race and, as we expressed in the media openly, she had four runs at 1200 metres prior to last night and hadn’t struck a blow in any of them so I didn’t see last night being a lot different.

“Without being disrespectful to the race last night, that was a barrier trial effectively for her.

“We just wanted to give her a nice, healthy blow on a good surface and it’s certainly served its purpose and created a good foundation for us to build off.

“She’ll take good improvement off it and next time move to 1400 metres and go around a justified $1.20 favourite with stable expectations, as opposed to last night where there was no stable expectation.”

Mystic Journey is set to step up to 1400 metres likely at home in Hobart in three weeks time.

Brown to return to Australia

Leading Singapore trainer Cliff Brown announced on Wednesday he will return to Australia in the coming months and will continue to train in Victoria.

“I haven’t applied (for a licence) yet. I’ll do that once everything here is sorted first,” Brown said.

“I haven’t picked a place yet either. In normal times, I would fly in and out early to scout around for a place, but we can’t do that anymore, it’ll have to be when we get there.

“I’m leaving around mid-March, and will also serve my two-week quarantine. If all goes well, I’m hoping to start training in May, during which time Inferno would have already had a few weeks of work.”

Cummings bullish about Viridine

James Cummings only entered Viridine (Poet’s Voice {GB}) in Friday night’s G2 Australian S. after the entries were extended however the head trainer for Godolphin believes the gelding will be tough to beat.

“He should bring some residual fitness from a few runs this prep already, unfortunately for him he just missed out on getting into the Magic Millions but, back to weight for age here, he’s well-suited and looks great and I would say he will be extremely competitive,” James Cummings told RSN927.

Mizzy to begin in Expressway

The Anthony Cummings-trained Mizzy (Zoustar) posted an impressive trial victory at Randwick on Thursday as she gets set to return to the races in the G2 Expressway S.

"She looks good,” Cummings told Racenet.

“It was a second slower than the first heat but she is doing well heading towards the Expressway S.”

Brown in a fight for surgery

Group 1-winning jockey Corey Brown has resulted in the courts in order to get surgery on his back to fix an injury that occurred 18 months ago.

Brown fractured his spine in the G1 Queensland Derby back in 2019 and is in a fight with Workcover over follow-up surgery that would see him pain-free with the possibility of returning to the saddle.

“I was meant to have been operated on about five or six months ago and Workcover have been kind enough to deny the operation,’’ Brown told Racing.com.

‘’I was meant to have a court hearing about a week and a-half ago but they (Workcover) have put it back to the 19th of February.

‘’It (operation to fuse the spine) needs to be done with the pain I am in at the moment.

‘’The apparatus (plate and screws) has to come out and it (spine) has to be fused, but the amount he (surgeon) has to fuse he is unsure of until I am on the operating table.

‘’I have had two spine specialists in NSW both tell me the exactly the same thing: ‘this is what needs to be done otherwise, basically your back will fall over and collapse’."

McKee eyeing Classics

Stephen McKee will have two runners in the R. Listed Karaka Million 3YO Classic at Ellerslie on Saturday and he has Classic ambitions for both horses.

Lord Ardmore (NZ) (Reliable Man {GB}) finished fourth in the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas in November and subsequently had the same result at Tauranga earlier this month after being held up in the straight.

McKee has been pleased with his progress since then and is looking forward to him going around in the rich feature on Saturday.

“He is a horse who has really continued to improve. He is on the upward spiral,” McKee said.

“He has got enough early speed to take a good position and he really finishes strongly.”

The G1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby remains his ultimate goal at Ellerslie in March.

Lord Ardmore will be joined on Saturday by stablemate Waimoku Falls (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}).

The filly finished 12th in the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas in November, and has followed a similar line to Lord Ardmore, resuming at Ruakaka earlier this month where she dead-heated for second.

“She is a filly with stacks of ability,” McKee said. “She is slightly immature at this stage, but the ability is certainly there and I think within the next 12 to 24 months you will see a really good filly."

Nominated for both the New Zealand Derby and G1 New Zealand Oaks, McKee said her run this weekend will dictate which path she takes.

Innes confident in Aegon

Ellerslie’s Karaka Million features are among the few major New Zealand races missing from the CV of top jockey Leith Innes, and he’s hoping star 3-year-old Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}) can change that this weekend.

Innes has ridden over 1500 winners, including 30 at Group 1 level – most recently aboard Aegon in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600 metres) in November.

The son of the late Sacred Falls (NZ) is unbeaten in three starts, having also won the G2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas, and he is gearing up for an eagerly anticipated clash with top-class filly Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) in Saturday’s R. Listed Karaka Million 3YO Classic.

Innes was in the saddle for both of Aegon’s black-type victories, and he has been pleased with the gelding’s progress since returning to Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman’s Cambridge stable following a four-week break.

“His exhibition gallop at Ellerslie and his trial win at Matamata last week were both really good,” Innes said. “He seems to have come back really well.

“Obviously the filly is going to be hard to beat this weekend, but I’m very happy to be riding this horse. He’s been super impressive in the Hawke’s Bay Guineas and 2000 Guineas, and he’s definitely one of the best 3-year-olds I’ve ridden in a while.”

Innes was happy with how Aegon fared at Wednesday’s barrier draw, landing gate four in a 17-horse field.

“I’d definitely rather have four than 14,” he said. “It’s a nice gate and we should be able to get ourselves into a good position.”

Trentham dress rehearsal

Riccarton trainers Michael and Matthew Pitman are looking forward to giving Da Vinci Girl (NZ) (Zacinto {GB}) her first look at Trentham on Saturday, with the G1 New Zealand Oaks (2400 metres) her main aim at the Wellington track in March.

The filly has placed in all three of her starts since her 11th placing in the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas in November, and her trainers believe she is a big chance in breaking maiden company in the Clubs New Zealand 1600 on Saturday.

“Da Vinci Girl has always been a filly that we have earmarked for the Oaks. We ran her in the Guineas with a view to that,” Matthew Pitman said.

“We are a firm believer that if you want to take on the best you have got to do so early. It hardens them up for what you target later on.

“That has been our mindset with her early on. She is a genuine mile and a-half horse, so the distance of the Oaks is ideal.

“She is going to Trentham this time to give her a chance to look at the course and pick up a nice maiden race if she can get the job done.

“She has drawn (one) to get a nice run and she has been knocking on the door in her last few runs.

“She is a horse we have a reasonably high opinion of and she will go close to getting the job done on Saturday.”

Cape Yearling catalogue released

The catalogue for the Cape Yearling Sale is now online, Bloodstock South Africa announced on Wednesday. Slated to be held at the Mistico Equestrian Centre on February 28, 189 horses will go under the hammer.

Previous editions of the Sale have yielded South African Grade 1 winner Surcharge, who would go on to take the G1 Kennedy Cantala S. in Australia as Yulong Prince (SAF) (Gimmethegreenlight), as well as young sire Gold Standard (SAF).

There are a variety of sires represented including: Duke Of Marmalade (Ire), Flower Alley (USA), Gimmethegreenlight, Ideal World (USA), Judpot (USA), Philanthropist (USA), Silvano (Ger), Trippi (USA), and What A Winter (SAF).

True Timber out of the Pegasus

G1 Cigar Mile hero True Timber (USA) (Mineshaft {USA)) was not entered for Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup S. after cooling out slightly lame Wednesday morning prior to the draw, trainer Jack Sisterson announced via Twitter.

With the defection of True Timber, G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile victor Knicks Go (USA) (Paynter {USA}) was installed as the morning-line favourite in the 12-horse Pegasus.

“True Timber came up slightly off cooling out this morning,” Sisterson tweeted. “While it appears he might be able to run in the Pegasus, we always prioritise the best interest of the horse and have elected to defer to caution and not compete in the Pegasus. Although it would have been a life changing experience having a runner in the Pegasus, True Timber gave us the excitement leading up towards the Pegasus. Best of luck to all runners in the Pegasus. We and True Timber will be routing for you!”