Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Edinburgh Park Stud owner, Ian Smith, wasn’t one bit surprised to see the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained 2-year-old, Introducing, do what he did on debut on Wednesday.
Introducing caught the eye when defeating his Group 3-winning stablemate Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar) in a Randwick trial on February 6 and was sent out favourite in Race 1 at Warwick Farm.
And, while not everything went to script, the Trapeze Artist colt, who was bred by Smith, scored a hugely impressive victory.
Introducing was unsettled pre-race, proving a handful on the way to the gates for jockey Brett Prebble, and after loading into the stalls, the colt was slow away.
He soon mustered speed and found the front, and from there, he was strong to the line, recording a 0.36l triumph.
“He missed the kick and played up a bit on the way to the barriers, so to do that was excellent,” Smith told TDN AusNZ.
Ian Smith
Introducing becomes the third individual winner for Widden Stud’s freshman sire, who has eight entries for the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and 12 for the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
The colt is from Smokin’ Alice (USA) (Smoke Glacken {USA}), making him a half-brother to the Listed winner and Group 1 placegetter Eleven Eleven (Fastnet Rock) and the stakes performer War Memorial (Fastnet Rock).
Smokin’ Alice, who died last year, is a half-sister to the two-time scorer Nothin But A Dream (USA) (First Defence {USA}), and that pair’s dam is the Listed winner Darling Alice (USA) (Northern Flagship {USA}). Nothin But A Dream has produced the Group 2 victor Glenfiddich, who was bred by Smith and now stands at Aquis Farm.
Introducing as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
Introducing made $380,000 at the 2022 year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, with James Harron’s Bloodstock Colt Partnership buying.
“He’s a lovely colt, well-put-together, he looked like he would run early and Gai and Adrian have done a fantastic job with him,” Smith commented.
“Well done to everyone involved, it’s great.”
“He’s (Introducing) a lovely colt, well-put-together, he looked like he would run early and Gai (Waterhouse) and Adrian (Bott) have done a fantastic job with him.” - Ian Smith
In 2014, at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Edinburgh Park consigned Treppes (Domesday) in foal to Snitzel. The mare was knocked down to Bert Viera for $190,000 and the resultant foal was Trapeze Artist, who would go on to win four times in top company before embarking on a career at stud.
“There’s obviously a bit of a soft spot there (for Trapeze Artist), he was a very talented colt and I thought a mare like her would suit, physically,” Smith explained.
“It’s worked out very well.
“Trapeze Artist is doing a good job. You would think they (his progeny) were going to be more late 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds, so to see them running before Christmas and kicking on into Slipper time, it’s encouraging. They’re only going to get better as 3-year-olds.”
Trapeze Artist | Standing at Widden Stud
Tip of the iceberg
Introducing clocked 58.64s for the 1000-metre gallop on a Heavy 8, dashing home his final 600 metres in 34.44s.
Capital Heart (Capitalist) was second, with Storm The Ramparts (Headwater) third.
Bott said the colt has plenty of upside and will take great benefit from the outing.
“He’s obviously a very talented colt,” he told Sky Racing.
“We took a few risks coming here (Wednesday) with a few unknown factors, so it was good to see him get the job done.
“He’s still a bit raw, there’s a good bit to improve on.
“He’s (Introducing) still a bit raw, there’s a good bit to improve on.” - Adrian Bott
“He mustered very quickly, and importantly, when he did muster quickly, he was able to get in a nice rhythm off the back of that, he settled well for Brett, took up the running and he rated him nicely.
“He was coming out looking for the best part of the track and probably got a little bit lost once he was out there, but once he was challenged he kept finding.”
Prebble, who has chalked up four wins and two placings from his past six rides for Waterhouse-Bott, spoke glowingly of Introducing.
“He got really upset going to the barriers, he wanted to take off. I did my best to keep him calm and save his energy as much as I could,” Prebble said.
James Harron with Introducing after his win at Warwick Farm | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“He’s very new, he’s raw, but he’s obviously blessed with very good ability and he’s still a colt, so he’s quite powerful.
“He’s done a wonderful job.
“He’s still learning and he’s done a lot wrong, but that’s understandable.”
On the back of his fine first-up win, tab.com.au wound the colt’s price for the G1 Golden Slipper S. (1200 metres) on March 18 into $34.
