Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Written by Paul Vettise
Promising colts Verne (Snitzel) and Ranveer (Winning Rupert) showed they may well be forces to be reckoned with in spring 3-year-old features with strong efforts on Saturday to post juvenile successes at Randwick and Sandown respectively.
Pedigree was to the fore at Randwick where the well-related colt Verne continued his winning form with a tenacious performance to avenge a debut defeat.
The Annabel Neasham-trained youngster was beaten by In The Congo (Snitzel) in his first appearance and got his own back on Saturday when he got the better of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-prepared youngster in Saturday’s Fujitsu General H.
At Sandown, Ranveer made an overdue return for trainer Matt Laurie and showed his quality to overcome a Heavy 9 track and claim top honours in the Clanbrooke Racing H.
Verne had also triumphed at his previous start on his home track at Warwick Farm and Neasham’s Assistant Trainer Todd Pollard confirmed a spell was now in order.
“He isn’t the finished product yet and when you look at him he’s still quite a raw colt. It will be exciting to see what he can do in the future,” he said.
“He (Verne) isn’t the finished product yet and when you look at him he’s still quite a raw colt.” – Todd Pollard
“We’ll give him a break and then bring him back and hopefully he will be as good as we want him to be and there are some nice races in the spring for him.”
Verne was sold by breeder Highgrove Stud at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale Round 2 for $300,000 to Aquis Farm and is now raced by a syndicate that includes Noorilim and Phoenix Thoroughbreds.
A brother to the G2 Australia S. winner and Group 1 placegetter Thronum, Verne is out of Canadian winner Helena’s Secret (USA) (Five Star Day {USA}).
It is a hot pedigree as Helena’s Secret is a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner and Champion Sire Street Cry (Ire) and the dam of another top-flight winner and influential stallion in Shamardal (USA). It is also the family of the Darley resident and G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Territories (Ire).
Verne and Brodie Loy return to scale | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Verne raced close to the speed for rider Brodie Loy set up by In The Congo and the two youngsters went at it hammer and tongs over the closing 200 metres.
“It was an enthralling battle and well done to Brodie, who works hard to get these opportunities and he nailed it,” Pollard said.
Ranveer shows class
Ranveer is another highly regarded colt, who overcame an unsuitably wet track at Sandown in his first appearance since finishing runner-up in his December debut at Flemington where he was beaten by subsequent R. Listed Inglis Millennium winner Profiteer (Capitalist).
“My early plan was to trial him and race at Ballarat before taking him up to the Magic Millions, but it didn’t work out and we had to back off,” Laurie said. “He’s a horse I’ve always had a high opinion of.”
Ranveer, who was a touch fractious in the gates, travelled in second spot before dashing clear halfway down the straight and had enough in reserve to down debutante Our Heidi (Needs Further) by 0.75l.
“He can be a pain in the bum in the gates and a bit frustrating, but hopefully with this run under his belt he can move forward,” Laurie said.
“I was a bit worried and felt he may not have done enough work for this type of surface and hoped his class would get him through. To my eye, he looked to be running on empty.
“There’s an 1100 metre race at Caulfield in a fortnight and then we’ll back off and get him ready for specific races in the spring.”
Ranveer was bred by Einoncliff and bought for $200,000 by Laurie out of the Western Breeders Alliance draft at the Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale.
He is a son of Bitter Twist (California Dane), who is a sister to the Listed Fairetha S. winner Hoegaarden (Flying Spur) and their dam is a sister to the eight-time Group 1 winner Intergaze (Integra).
Ranveer as a yearling
