Cover image courtesy of Trackside Photography
Spicy Martini sizzles in rescheduled Fred Best Classic
This year’s G3 Fred Best Classic was run midweek at Doomben, after being one of several abandoned races from last weekend’s washed-out Queensland Derby Day at Eagle Farm. The rescheduling delivered an unexpected Group racing treat on a Wednesday, and punters were rewarded with a thrilling finish.
Held on an upgraded Soft 5 surface, the Toby Edmonds and Stephen McLean-trained Spicy Martini (Justify {USA}) produced a powerful closing effort to reel in the long-time leader Media World (Written Tycoon) right on the line.
Media World set a strong pace after working across from a wide gate, with Stay Focused (Cosmic Force) following him across to ensure a genuinely run race. The warm favourite Bosustow (Blue Point {Ire}) travelled sweetly just better than midfield but found little when asked to let down.
Just as Media World looked to have the race sewn up after a bold on-speed display, Craig Williams weaved through the field aboard the tough filly Spicy Martini, who stretched out to get her nose down at the right time to score the valuable Group 3 win to add to her two Listed wins, Pisces (Frosted {USA}) and Raikkonen (Shalaa {Ire}) ran bravely into third and fourth respectively.
Trainer Toby Edmonds was proud of Spicy Martini’s effort and revealed she hasn’t been the easiest horse to manage but she has been a bargain and a gem of a purchase.
Toby Edmonds | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“She’s workman-like. There’s nothing flash about her at all. She’s honest, she’s in the Stradbroke now with 49.5 kilograms so we are very keen to run if she pulls up well.
“She’s (Spicy Martini) workman-like. There’s nothing flash about her at all, She’s honest.” - Toby Edmonds
“We found her online. A Justify filly which we wanted to buy because they were too dear, and this one Coolmore couldn’t put her through the sales so we picked her up.
“She has quite a few issues, takes a lot of managing but she’s done well.
“She has feet issues structurally. She walks like a duck.”
Winning jockey Craig Williams was equally impressed with the performance and spoke highly of the opportunity ahead as the race was a win and you are in the G1 Stradbroke Handicap. Interestingly Stefi Magnetica (All Too Hard) ran third in this race before being victorious in the Group 1 feature.
Spicy Martini winning the G3 Fred Best Classic | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“Toby and his team presented her really well. He had the challenge of being there on Saturday as all of these 3-year-olds did and it is a great initiative for horses in this race to be exempt from the Stradbroke.” Williams said
“Toby and his team have ten days to get her ready with 49.5 kilos.
“Any 3-year-old that runs this race runs well. She’s got to go a bit further again. It is the confidence that they get after the win. She had excuses last time and she’s a good tough horse with no weight so she’s going there with a realistic chance.
“Now it just depends how good her ten days is.”
“She (Spicy Martin) had excuses last time and she’s a good tough horse with no weight so she’s going there with a realistic chance.” - Craig Williams
As mentioned earlier by Toby Edmonds, she has a few structural issues with her feet and as a result Edmonds Racing picked her up for a bargain amount of $8000 from the 2023 Inglis Digital March Sale.
Spicy Martini is from a high-quality extended family. Her dam Extra Olives (Redoute’s Choice) was a four-time winner and placed in the G3 Vanity Stakes. She is a sister to Group 3 placed Regatta Rebel (Redoute's Choice), and has produced four winners from as many runners, including Extra Smart (Capitalist), Strong Martini (I Am Invincible), and Spicy Legend - Maske Rider (H.K.) (Justify {USA}).
Spicy Martini as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
Spicy Martini’s third dam is the champion filly Alinghi (Encosta De Lago), an 11-time winner including four Group 1 races. Alinghi is a full sister to the stakes-placed Slice Of Paradise (Encosta De Lago), the dam of top-class stallion Beneteau.
Extra Olives has continued to build the family, with a yearling colt and a weanling filly by Home Affairs, and she is due to foal to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) this spring.
Observer in a class of his own, with no one in sight at Sandown
Victory for Observer, the James Cummings-trained son of first-season sire Ghaiyyath (Ire), could hardly have been softer at Sandown on Wednesday. The Godolphin colt looked a serious talent and shapes as a potential top-class 3-year-old over further ground, after he demolished a maiden field of 2-year-olds by a widening five lengths over 1400 metres.
Sent out a dominant favourite following a strong second placing behind Planet Red (Admire Mars {Jpn}) at Pakenham on debut, Observer showed his class from the outset.
He crossed from a wide gate to lead comfortably, while fellow Godolphin runner but trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, Wentworth Falls (Too Darn Hot {GB}) had to work to sit outside the leader after crossing a few runners early. From there, the pair had the race to themselves, but it was evident Observer was always travelling the better, with Mark Zahra never having to get serious in the run home.
Observer pulled away under hands and heels to defeat Wentworth Falls by five lengths, with the Gavin Bedggood-trained Sky Deel (Dundeel {NZ}) boxing on gamely to finish third, just under three lengths behind the runner-up.
Godolphin assistant trainer Nacim Dilmi, who oversees the Melbourne team at Flemington for James Cummings, admitted he was feeling the pressure a bit before the jump.
Observer after winning the Handicap at Sandown-Lakeside | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“I don't get nervous very often, but when they are $1.50 you hope they run like a $1.50 chance,” Dilmi said.
Observer controlled the race from the start and had it well in hand turning for home. which gave no real concern for Dilmi to be worried in running.
“On what he's shown at home, that's pretty much what he's like,” Dilmi said.
“We don't have any partners that can keep up with him. He does things very easy.
“It's good for the stallion (Ghaiyyath) to have his second winner in about 10 days, so it's very promising.”
Nacim Dilmi | Image courtesy of Godolphin
Dilmi was full of praise for Observer’s attitude and composure.
“At home he's like a 5-year-old gelding,” he said.
“He does things so easy. He's very kind and it's good to have a horse like that in the yard.
“We'll see how he pulls up before deciding what we do, but we'll speak to the team, whether we send him out for a few weeks and bring him back for the spring.
“He (Observer) does things so easy. He's very kind and it's good to have a horse like that in the yard.” - Nacim Dilmi
“I'll let James and the guys decide, but I would think 1400 metres would be a suitable distance for now. I'm looking forward to what he's got next, because that was certainly an easy watch.”
Ghaiyyath was a top-class stayer in Europe, winning four Group 1 races including the Eclipse Stakes, International Stakes, Coronation Cup and the Grosser Preis von Baden, all of these races were between 2000 and 2400 metres and as a 4 and 5-year-old.
Ghaiyyath (Ire) | Standing at Darley
That profile suggests his stock could be even better with maturity and over more ground. James Cummings also trained Ghaiyyath’s first Australian winner, Crocodile, who was impressive last week at Hawkesbury when scoring over 1400 metres in another strong front-running performance.
Observer comes from a very strong family. He is the third foal from Smooth (Lonhro), an unraced full sister to Pierro, the Champion 2-year-old who won the Golden Slipper among five Group 1 victories and has gone on to be a top-class sire with six individual Group 1 winners to date.
Smooth has made an outstanding start to her stud career, with all three of her runners being winners. Her first foal Sandpaper (Snitzel) is a six-time winner, including the Group 3 Newcastle Stakes and the Listed Gothic Stakes, and her second foal Mellifluent (Exceed And Excel) has won twice, including a metropolitan juvenile race in Sydney.
Since producing Observer, Smooth has delivered a weanling colt by Anamoe for Godolphin, and is due to foal to Cylinder this spring.
Frosty Girl ridden cold gets the result
Wednesday’s Warwick Farm meeting may have unearthed a star filly of the future, with the Chris Waller-trained Frosty Girl (NZ) (Super Seth) delivering a dominant display over 1300 metres. The patiently handled and well-backed Super Seth filly had nine educational trials and jump outs before making her debut, and that grounding paid off in style as she stormed home from last to score impressively.
Ridden by James McDonald, she sat at the rear of the field before producing a booming finish down the outside. She carries the silks of Glenn Ritchie, whose colours are starting to appear on a number of promising horses and in the future will feature on the NZ$2.4 million Savabeel full sister to Orchestral (NZ) (Savabeel), the sale-topper at the 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale.
There was plenty of pressure on from the early stages of this event, Kitty Okay (Headwater) set a decent tempo in front, with Cloud Of Dust (Deep Field) outside her, which forced the well-fancied Cinsault (Brazen Beau) to race three wide, although she appeared comfortable in that position.
Soon after straightening, Cinsault took over, but McDonald was cruising wide on Frosty Girl. Once he released the brakes, the filly lengthened stylishly and powered away to win convincingly. Cinsault held on for second, while Frosty Girl’s stablemates Pierro’s Girl (Pierro) and Cantarito (Snitzel) closed late to grab third and fourth respectively.
Frosty Girl (NZ) winning the Maiden Plate at Warwick Farm | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Trainer Chris Waller was pleased with the win and the development still to come.
“It was good,” Waller said. “She is still learning as you can see. We intended to be a little bit closer to the pace, but she was a bit slow away.
“James didn’t panic. He got her into a good rhythm and got her out to the right part of the track and finished off without any interruptions, so it was good.
“Like most horses, especially the New Zealand-breds, if you look after them, they will look after you.
“Like most horses, especially the New Zealand-breds, if you look after them, they will look after you.” - Chris Waller
“Super Seth from Waikato Stud is doing a fantastic job, so it’s good to see New Zealand with a really promising stallion on the way.
“We will have to pay a bit more for them, but we will be buying a lot more of them.”
Winning jockey James McDonald was impressed with her ability and attitude:
“It was really nice, she’s shown really good promise, so it was nice to get her kick-started and nice for her to produce something like that, a good effort,” he said.
“It was really nice, she’s (Frosty Girl) shown really good promise, so it was nice to get her kick-started and nice for her to produce something like that, a good effort.” - James McDonald
Frosty Girl was purchased by Chris Waller Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock for NZ$150,000 at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale.
She is out of Oh So Chilled (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), a mare who only raced once but boasts a strong pedigree. Oh So Chilled is a three-quarter-sister to Listed winner The Big Chill (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), as well as Forty Two Below (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), the dam of dual Group 2 and Group 3 winner Coldplay (NZ). She is also a half-sister to stakes winner Savacool (NZ) (Savabeel).
Frosty Girl (NZ) as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Since producing Frosty Girl, Oh So Chilled (NZ) has delivered yearling and weanling fillies by the champion Savabeel, and she is due to foal this spring to Noverre (NZ), Savabeel’s exciting young Group 1-winning son who has made a splash with his first yearlings that have sold this year.
The win adds further momentum to the growing profile of Super Seth, the exciting son of Dundeel (NZ), who stands this season at Waikato Stud for NZ$75,000 (plus GST). Interest in the stallion has surged after his incredible start at stud where he has sired three individual Group 1 winners, Feroce (NZ), Linebacker (NZ) and La Dorada (NZ) so much so that applications for a 2025 nomination officially closed at 5pm (NZT) on the same day Frosty Girl saluted.
