Looking Ahead puts the spotlight on runners of interest across Australia and New Zealand. Whether they are a particularly well-bred or high-priced runner having their first or second start, a promising galloper returning to the track or a horse which has trialled particularly well, we’ll aim to give you something to follow.
Thursday at Gosford, we look at a million-dollar colt from a Group 2-winning mare, plus a Godolphin filly whose second dam is the multiple Group-producing broodmare Dextrous (Quest For Fame {USA}). At Geelong, we pay attention to a debutant gelding with a huge pedigree.
Gosford, Race 5, 3.40pm AEDT, Nova Coast Services Mdn, $42,000, 1200m
Schwarz, 3-year-old colt (Zoustar x Summer Sham {Not A Single Doubt})
This unraced colt is the second foal from the Not A Single Doubt mare Summer Sham, who was a winner of the G2 Angus Armanasco S. This is the Redoute’s Choice family through the third dam, Unspoken Choice (Giant’s Causeway {USA}), who was a Redoute’s half-sister and, therefore, closely related to Manhattan Rain, Rubick and Shoals (Fastnet Rock), among others.
At the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, this colt got plenty of attention. He was consigned by Widden Stud and sold for $1.25 million to a consortium of Rosemont-Victorian Alliance, Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) and David Redvers Bloodstock.
Schwarz as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Schwarz is raced in the Rosemont colours and trained by John O’Shea at Randwick. He’s been ultra-promising in trials since June, winning two and never finishing worse than third. In this debut he will have jockey Tommy Berry from barrier seven.
Gosford, Race 4, 3.05pm AEDT, Club Troppo Reunion Super Mdn, $60,000, 1000m
Cosmos, 3-year-old filly (Snitzel x Serendipitious {Sepoy})
This filly has been trialling since late last year for trainer James Cummings at Agnes Banks. In her latest, she was fifth at Warwick Farm, which is about where she has finished in each of her efforts to date. She will debut in this race with jockey Zac Lloyd from barrier one.
Cosmos is a homebred for the Godolphin operation. She is from the Sepoy mare Serendipitious, who was a mile winner and very well-related. This mare is a half-sister to no less than four stakes winners, and they include the G1 VRC Oaks winner Willowy (Kermadec {NZ}), the G1 Champagne S. winner Skilled, the Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Sidestep, and the Group 2-winning, Group 1-placed Ambidexter.
Snitzel | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
This is a fantastic family through the second dam, Dextrous, who herself was a multiple Group winner. She was also a half-sister to the Danehill (USA) mare Light Work, who was second in the G1 Australian Oaks.
Geelong, Race 2, 2pm AEDT, DMB Contracting Mdn, $37,500, 1243m
Explicable, 3-year-old gelding (Justify {USA} x Lake Geneva {Fastnet Rock})
This gelding started his life with a lot of expectation. By Justify (USA), he is from the stakes winner Lake Geneva, who was Group 1-placed on several occasions, including the Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond S. The second dam on this page is Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), making Lake Geneva a full sister to Ennis Hill, the dam of Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}), and the Coolmore sire Acrobat.
This is one of the progressive families in the Australian Stud Book. Explicable was consigned to the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Coolmore Stud and purchased by Mick Wallace for $600,000.
Explicable as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
The gelding started his career with Chris Waller in Sydney, but he was transferred south to Cranbourne trainer Julius Sandhu after two trials. For the latter, he was second-last in a jump-out on September 25. In this debut, he will have jockey Beau Mertens from barrier nine.
Looking Back
Our Looking Ahead selections on Wednesday fared well enough. At Pakenham, Pharoah's Daughter (American Pharoah {USA}) was third in the first race, while Piercing Threw (Pierro) was unplaced in the third. At Randwick-Kensington, Incessant (NZ) (Savabeel) was second in the opener.
