Saturday Summary: The Three Hundred; too fast, too strong in Winx Guineas

Cover image courtesy of Trackside Photography

The Three Hundred simply too quick in the Winx Guineas

It was a charge of the light brigade in Saturday’s G3 Winx Guineas at the Sunshine Coast, but it was The Three Hundred (I Am Invincible) who burst straight to the front and never looked back. Showing brilliant gate speed and sustained speed throughout, he led all the way to post a dominant win in the $300,000 feature for 3-year-olds.

Apuntar (The Mission) sat outside the leader and worked throughout but stuck on bravely to run third in a race that heavily favoured on-pacers, while Ramp It Up (Love Conquers All) made good late ground for second. Still, all honours were with the winner, who controlled proceedings from the front and simply proved too fast.

Stable representative Neil Paine was thrilled with the result and credited pre-race tactics as key to unlocking the colt’s best form.

“The problem with this horse is that he’s a bugger at the machines. We told Ang (Angela Jones) to keep him warmed up and if he jumps, to put him right into the race,” Paine explained.

“Over the last one or two starts, he was slowly away and he gets back and starts to lose interest. I was really happy when he jumped and Ang kept pushing forward. The pace was a little bit fast early, but she pushed him forward and got him balanced once she got him to the lead.

“Gee, he surprised me when he kicked away. He is a horse with promise, but there’s two of them.”

On the ride by jockey Angela Jones, he added: “She rode him beautifully and she’s got really nice hands on a horse, so it was a pleasure to have her on and ride a winner for the Waterhouse/Bott stable.”

Jones was equally pleased post-race.

“It was great to get support from the Waterhouse/Bott stable. You know their horses are fit. Maybe he wasn’t putting it all into his races when he gets back, so we really made a point that if we can get him away cleanly, we’d send him to the front and he’d be winning,” she said.

“We were able to do that, lovely and relaxed, and he is a different horse when he doesn’t have other horses to look around. It was a super dominant win today.”

Sales Information: The Three Hundred was purchased by Trilogy Racing and Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Racing for $400,000 from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Pedigree Notes: A son of I Am Invincible, The Three Hundred is out of Sassy ‘N’ Smart (Smart Missile), a very talented juvenile in New Zealand who won twice, including the Listed Welcome Stakes, and placed in the G2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes.

Sassy ‘N’ Smart is a half-sister to Mallory (Not A Single Doubt), winner of the G3 Widden Stakes, and a multiple Group placegetter at two and three.

Since foaling The Three Hundred, Sassy ‘N’ Smart has produced a 2-year-old gelding named Wooden Eye (I Am Invincible), a yearling filly by Extreme Choice, a weanling colt by Home Affairs, and missed to Maurice (Jpn) last spring.

Bridal Waltz dances her way to Listed glory

All the pre-race attention was on the heavily backed favourite She’s An Artist (Trapeze Artist), but the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained Snitzel filly Bridal Waltz hadn’t read the script.

The talented filly controlled the race from the front, setting a solid tempo with Fieldelo (Deep Field) tracking in second, and She’s An Artist poised in third on her outside, ready to strike.

At the clock tower, She’s An Artist loomed and looked the winner, but Bridal Waltz kept finding under pressure and held her rivals at bay for an impressive all-the-way victory. The favourite had every chance and had to settle for second, while Duchess Zou (Zoustar) finished strongly to earn valuable black type in third.

Bridal Waltz had been beaten by more than four lengths by She’s An Artist when they met a fortnight earlier, but her trainer was confident that the filly would take improvement from that effort.

“She went into that probably slightly underdone, and she was ready to peak today,” Peter Moody said.

“We were obviously respectful of the other two that beat her the other day, but we thought we were in the wrong part of the track too, so we were quietly confident we could turn it around.

“We just had to maybe hope the favourite wasn’t as good as the hype.”

Moody will now look to the spring with the promising filly, targeting straight-track sprint features just below the top tier.

“I would think a few weeks off now, let the dust settle and then pick our mark carefully through the spring without trying to be too excited,” he said.

“We know she can run down the Flemington straight, so there might be a nice race, your Bobbie Lewis’ and those, where some other horses may be getting ready for bigger targets. If you’re ready on the day, you can snag one of those.”

Pedigree Information: Bridal Waltz was bred by O E and D R Pope Pty Ltd, and is raced by the Pope Racing No 2 group. She is out of Charleston Dancer (Lonhro), a winner over 900 metres who has made a superb start to her broodmare career. From just two runners, she has produced Bridal Waltz, now a Listed winner, and She Dances (Street Boss {USA}), a seven-time winner including the G3 Northwood Plume Stakes and the Listed Chautauqua Stakes.

She Dances sold for $775,000 at this years Inglis Chairman's Sale to David Redvers Bloodstock and Widden Stud, and she placed fourth today in the Listed Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final.

It’s a strong family, which also features stakes winners Larimer Street, Bold Bastille, and Ideas Man, all by Brazen Beau, as well as Chloe In Paris (Exceed And Excel).

Since foaling Bridal Waltz, Charleston Dancer has produced a 2-year-old filly named Eyes Of Blue (Snitzel), a yearling filly by Street Boss (USA), and is due to foal to Anamoe next month.

Half Yours arrogantly claims the Caloundra Cup

The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Half Yours (St Jean {Ire}) announced himself as a staying force of the future with a dominant performance in Saturday’s $300,000 Listed Caloundra Cup, storming home under jockey Ashley Morgan to score by nearly four and a half lengths.

It was a patient and measured ride from Morgan, who allowed the gelding to settle well back off a genuine tempo, as the leaders ensured a testing run up front. When the well-favoured Bear On The Loose (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) sliced through along the inside, he briefly looked the winner, but Half Yours had other ideas, sweeping past and putting the race to bed in emphatic style.

Bear On The Loose battled on gamely for second, while Felix The Scat (Mendelssohn {USA}) finished a further two lengths adrift in third.

Co-trainer Tony McEvoy was delighted with the performance and confirmed loftier goals now beckon.

“He’s a horse we sourced and purchased and thought he was the right article, and he showed today that he’s the horse we’d hoped for. He looks to have a bright staying future,” McEvoy said.

“The whole idea was to come here and get his rating up so we can target some races in the spring. He’s achieved that now, so we’ll back off him and have a spell, but he’ll go to a water walker and tick over and have a little reward for a few weeks, keeping his muscle, and then we’ll take him home and see where we’ll go.”

Jockey Ashley Morgan was equally impressed post-race:

“He’s a proper, proper horse. Got into a nice spot, he switched off for me. It was a muddly-run race. Bailey (Wheeler, on Nikau Spur) went for it in the race which allowed me to flow into it,” he said.

“Tony said before the race to let him rest because it was his first time at the trip. When I went for him, he exploded. I think he’s a proper horse. His strength is that he relaxes really well in the run and has an explosive turn of foot. He put them to bed.

“Down in the weights, and there’s a lot of good races over two miles, there’s not really any ceiling for that.”

Morgan added: “Thanks to Tony (McEvoy) for four rides today, they were all immaculately prepared and they all ran enormous. My first rides for the stable and hopefully not my last.”

Sales Information: Half Yours was originally trained by Ciaron Maher and won two races in his stable, before being purchased by Belmont Bloodstock and McEvoy Mitchell Racing for $305,000 via the Inglis Digital November Sale in 2024.

Pedigree Information: He is the eighth and final foal out of La Gazelle (Desert King {Ire}), who was placed on the track and has now produced three winners. While her own race record was modest, La Gazelle hails from strong staying bloodlines. She is by renowned stamina influence Desert King (Ire), the sire of Champion three-time G1 Melbounre Cup winner Makybe Diva (GB), and is a half-sister to Moudre (Blevic), an eight-time winner up to 3200 metres, including the G3 Queen’s Cup and the Listed Heatherlie Handicap.

Jimmy was a brave bear in the Winter Championship Series Final

It was a well-deserved first stakes victory for the ever-consistent Jimmy The Bear (Jimmy Creed {USA}), with the Patrick and Michelle Payne-trained gelding notching his 11th career win and pushing his prizemoney earnings past $1.23 million.

The pace was solid from the outset, with Magnaspin (Magnus) taking up the running and race favourite Oh Too Good (All Too Hard) sitting outside the leader. The tempo suited the backmarkers, and Jimmy The Bear loomed ominously down the outside in the hands of Billy Egan, making his move alongside Forgot You (NZ) (Savabeel) at the clock tower.

In a driving finish, Jimmy The Bear proved narrowly too good, holding off a late charge from Munhamek (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who flashed home for second, while Forgot You fought on bravely to finish third.

“He’s just an old marvel,” said co-trainer Michelle Payne.

“His win last start put the writing on the wall; he was great under Tom Prebble and brilliant again today. Billy did the best he could from the barrier, caught a bit wide, but just had a nice resting run from where he was.

“Balanced him up, it was looking a good chance all the way up the straight, but he had to fight for it, and just as Jimmy does, he doesn’t know how to run a bad race, and he fought it out really well.”

Egan, who picked up a Stakes double on the day alongside the Payne team, was full of praise for the popular gelding.

“That was a bit like riding a Group winner, then, actually, because everyone in the stable loves this horse,” he said.

Pedigree Information: Jimmy The Bear was bred by Mr MJ Hirst and is raced by his breeder and a group of other owners. He is the second foal out of the handy mare Belvedere Road (Street Boss {USA}), a four-time winner over distances ranging from 1600 to 2500 metres.

While the pedigree lacks close-up black type, it features plenty of winners. One notable relation is Southern Moon (Puissance de Lune {Ire}), a winner over 2000 metres who was tough and classy enough to finish second in the G1 Victoria Derby and the Listed Geelong Classic.

In recent years, Belvedere Road has produced a 2-year-old colt by Omaha Beach (USA), and a weanling colt by Ghaiyyath (Ire), she is due to foal to Blue Point (Ire) in November this year.