Cover Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
The G2 Furious S. is this weekend at Royal Randwick, the second of the four-race Princess Series that occurs for 3-year-old fillies each spring. This year, the race has its typically excellent field headed by Four Moves Ahead (Snitzel), She’s All Class (I Am Invincible) and Najmaty (I Am Invincible).
However, the Ron Quinton-trained filly De An Andretti (I Am Invincible), bred and raced by Gerry Harvey, has one of the strongest claims to the Furious S. on Saturday. She’s a sister to Harvey’s smart mare Libertini, who won this race two years ago.
“No pressure though,” Quinton joked before clarifying that the her famous owner had butted right out of the filly's preparation.
“Gerry Harvey is a very wonderful bloke to train for,” Quinton said. “I didn’t speak to him after she won at Hawkesbury but that’s what he’s all about. He knows we’re doing our level best with the horses. He’s a very good owner.”
Stepping up
De An Andretti has had only one start, an impressive maiden win at Hawkesbury last April. The Furious S. is a significant leap of faith, but Quinton thinks she’s up to it.
“It is a huge step up in grade after coming off only a 2-year-old maiden win,” the trainer said. “But when she won that race, she won it under difficult circumstances on the day and we spelled her immediately with the Princess Series in view. We sent her out, gave her a couple of weeks in pre-training and then got her back to the stable.”
For a short period, De An Andretti had a setback that caused her to miss the first leg of the Series, the G2 Silver Shadow S. on August 21. In her absence, the race was won by Swift Witness (Star Witness).
“Our intention was to compete in these races, but she’s right to go on Saturday, She’s trialled nicely and she’s worked well, and she’s a quality-looking animal and a quality-bred filly."
“Our intention was to compete in these races, but she’s (De An Andretti) right to go on Saturday. She’s trialled nicely and she’s worked well, and she’s a quality-looking animal and a quality-bred filly." - Ron Quinton
"It is a mighty step up in grade quickly, and the inexperience of her against the others that are more heavily raced is probably of some concern, but if she’s going to be a good filly, she’ll run terrific.”
De An Andretti has drawn an ideal gate in barrier two, and she will be ridden once again by Andrew Adkins, who was aboard at Hawkesbury in what proved the jockey's first win back after injury.
Quinton said he had no particular tactics in mind for Saturday’s race.
“We’ll just see how she begins and what speed is in the race,” he said. “She got back a long way at Hawkesbury but that was because of a reason at the barrier. If she starts well at Randwick she certainly won’t be way back like she was that day, and he’ll try and ride her where she’s comfortable, and give her every opportunity to finish off the race strongly.”
De An Andretti | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Quinton has an obvious affection for Adkins, whose lone Group 1 win came aboard the Quinton-trained Daysee Doom (Domesday) in the 2018 G1 Coolmore Classic.
“He’s ridden her in all her trials and he did help me educate her early on with jump outs and such,” the trainer said. “Gerry and Luke (McDonald, Harvey’s racing manager) are very happy to have him on the horse, and hopefully it can bring him luck because he’s had a wretched couple of years with injuries.”
Super Marios
De An Andretti is a homebred for Harvey’s Baramul Stud, unsold as a yearling and with an obviously valuable pedigree from the broodmare Aloha (Encosta De Lago).
Aloha herself was a very decent race-mare, winning the 2011 G1 Coolmore Classic as well as two Listed features and over $800,000 in prizemoney.
Libertini winning the G2 Silver Shadow S.
Libertini was her third foal, a striking filly that won two legs of the Princess Series in 2019. She also won the G2 Premiere S. last year and was third to horses like Bivouac and Masked Crusader (Toronado {Ire}) in Group 1 events.
Aloha had two foals sell for $250,000 and $625,000 before Harvey retained Libertini, and the mare has since had the colt Hawaii Five Oh (I Am Invincible), now a 2-year-old whom John Singleton bought into as a yearling for a decent sum. Hawaii Five Oh is with Richard and Michael Freedman at Randwick, and Luke McDonald said reports on the colt were pretty good.
Aloha, meanwhile, slipped to I Am Invincible this year, but she is booked back to the stallion at Yarraman Park this spring.
“I think both Libertini and De An Andretti have cemented her going back to I Am Invincible for the rest of her life.” - Luke McDonald
“I think both Libertini and De An Andretti have cemented her going back to I Am Invincible for the rest of her life,” McDonald said lightly, and he also gave away a few details about the naming of this valuable family’s fillies.
“De An Andretti is named after the late wife of Mario Andretti,” McDonald said. “We were denied a few names for her in the beginning, and that one wasn’t on the top of our list, so to speak. But Libertini was named after Gerry’s tennis partner and very good friend, Mario Libertini, so we thought we’d keep that Italian aspect.”
