Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Anode, a son of I Am Invincible, was the consummate professional on debut at Randwick on Saturday.
Despite being slightly overshadowed pre-race by the Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou debutant Amazing Eagle (Capitalist), who blew his opposition away in a trial at Rosehill in December, Anode gave little else in the field a chance with a 3.5l success.
Evergreen Stud Farm and partners Evergreen Rich bred Anode, and his success has given his connections G1 Golden Slipper S. aspirations in the autumn of next year. It also provided a silver lining moment for them.
The son of I Am Invincible was offered by Evergreen Stud Farm at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale with a reserve of $375,000, passing in for $300,000.
Believing in the quality of Anode, Evergreen stuck solid and elected to race the colt instead. Sent into training with Waterhouse and Bott, he immediately showed talent winning two trials before his electric win on Saturday.
Anode as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Aaron Bott of Evergreen Stud Farm told The Thoroughbred Report, “Anode was very impressive and pretty professional.
“He’s a horse we always liked at home and was a lovely yearling. Even before we took him to the yearling sales, I remember on inspections through the paddocks, Adrian Hancock spotted Anode and asked, ‘What’s that one over there?’ He absolutely loved him as well.
“He’s (Anode) a horse we always liked at home and was a lovely yearling.” - Aaron Bott
“We were very impressed with the trials he won, he did it in good fashion. I know it wasn’t in the quickest times, but he certainly brought it to raceday and is showing how good he is.
Anode heading out at Rosehill on December 5, where he won his second trial | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“I really think Rachel King summed it up best after the race. She mentioned that he’s just a casual horse with a lot of natural ability, but you’ve got to push him and get him going to get it out of him.
“You can’t sit back on him; you’ve got to ride him out fully, but the ability is there.”
Aaron Bott | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Blessing in disguise
Speaking about the sale, Bott admits he was disappointed Anode failed to sell at the time. The reserve of $375,000 was significantly below the $736,136 progeny of I Am Invincible averaged at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and was also below the $675,489 average the Champion Sire’s progeny recorded across the year at all sales.
“It was certainly frustrating at the time when you’ve got a lovely, good horse presented to the market or something you feel is good, and they don’t reach expectations.
“It was certainly frustrating at the time when you’ve got a lovely, good horse presented to the market or something you feel is good, and they don’t reach expectations.” - Aaron Bott
“We felt we were being realistic with the reserve. He was an I Am Invincible colt at the end of the day. The reserve was only modest compared to what they averaged. So, yes, it was disappointing at the time, but I guess it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
Anode won his debut career start at Randwick on Saturday | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Golden Slipper dreaming
The Golden Slipper is the ultimate aim for Anode, and the colt could have started his career in no better fashion or be in any better stable than that of the Waterhouse and Bott.
Renowned for its ability to produce a star juvenile, Tulloch Lodge under Waterhouse’s guidance recorded six Slipper winners, the Waterhouse-Bott combination achieved Slipper winner number seven in 2020 with Farnan.
While an incredible 13 Golden Slipper winners have hailed from Tulloch Lodge, if one counts those trained by Waterhouse’s father, the Champion Trainer TJ Smith.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, trainers of Anode, have had great success with the G1 Golden Slipper | Image courtesy The Image Is Everything
“We hope to take the path and get him to the Golden Slipper. Anode still has a lot of bridges to cross at this stage, but he’s an impressive individual and has earned the right to have a crack.
“We hope to take the path and get him to the Golden Slipper. Anode still has a lot of bridges to cross at this stage, but he’s an impressive individual and has earned the right to have a crack.” - Aaron Bott
“Gai (Waterhouse) and Adrian (Bott) are certainly on fire again this season, but that’s nothing new, really. Adrian’s been doing a fantastic job as well, not just this year but in previous years, and it’d be phenomenal to win a Slipper and make this horse into a stallion, being an I Am Invincible from the family of an incredible stallion in Fastnet Rock. I get it is early, but that would be the dream.”
Timely update
Dreams are free, and it’s hard to argue Anode has done anything wrong to shatter it. Not only did Saturday’s win lift the profile of his dam, the Fantastic Light (USA) mare Mysterious Light, but it also gave a boost to his half-brother, by Maurice (Jpn), who is set to be offered by Evergreen Stud at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
“Evergreen Rich owns Anode’s dam Mysterious Light. They’re our partners, the PK SUE family. The half-brother is a lovely style of horse. He’s got good size and is well-balanced, and I think viewers will be taken by him when they see him.
Maurice (Jpn) | Standing at Arrowfield
“We just felt the Maurice would suit the Premier Sale in Melbourne a bit better than Magics. Because although he’s strong enough and looks forward, I don’t think he’s an out-and-out 2-year-old. The option to go to Magics was there. I just think he would be better suited in Melbourne.”
However, Evergreen Stud Farm will still head to the Gold Coast with a draft of six, including Lot 490, a colt by Fastnet Rock from a stakes-placed Strategic mare Bound To Blush.
“We’ve got a balanced draft—a couple at the top and a couple in the middle and bottom. We have a really nice Fastnet Rock colt (Lot 490), and there are probably not many of them around these days at public auction, being an older stallion with smaller numbers now.
“He’s a strong, intelligent horse that moves very well. Overall, a very attractive colt with a pedigree to back him up.”
Belief in the family
With the results on the racetrack and a potential Golden Slipper runner in 2024, Bott is excited about the future and feels vindicated in the stud’s belief in Anode’s dam Mysterious Light, who foaled a colt by Widden Stud’s Zoustar this season.
“She’s been a great mare for the farm. She holds her own with the stallion and contributes to the foal. Gerald Ryan trained Mysterious Light, and she should have been black type. She was a multiple-city winner and is a daughter of Fantastic Light, who obviously got over a bit of a trip, but he’s certainly proven to be a good broodmare sire and is the broodmare sire of Yes Yes Yes.
“She’s (Mysterious Light) been a great mare for the farm. She holds her own with the stallion and contributes to the foal... Everything from Mysterious Light pretty much runs.” - Aaron Bott
“Everything from Mysterious Light pretty much runs. She had the Singapore Derby winner in Han Xin, who Lee Freedman trained when he was over there, and Adrian (Bott) traded Han Xin in Australia to Singapore.
“We were happy to send her to Zoustar, I Am Invincible, and those stallions based on what she has produced us to sires with lesser profiles. So, she’s done a great job, and there’s more stock to come through for her.
“It’s also pleasing because we backed ourselves and believed in Mysterious Light and her family, and what the family has produced and what it could produce.”
