Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Farnan’s half-sister far too good in the wet
The beautifully bred Beside The Ocean (Zoustar) relished the heavy conditions and led all the way in the Maiden Handicap over 1300 metres at Warwick Farm, under a smart ride by jockey Jason Collett.
In what was somewhat surprising, the Chris Waller-trained filly jumped as the outsider of the small six-horse field, despite a very promising second on debut at Kensington on July 16, behind Custom (Street Boss {USA}).
From a wide gate, Collett took control early, sending Beside The Ocean straight to the front. He allowed her to roll along out wide on the better ground, and despite the race lacking tempo, she always looked to travel comfortably. Swinging into the straight, she was the last off the bridle and had already made her way to the middle of the track, where the going was clearly more favourable. From there, the result was never in doubt.
Beside The Ocean pulled away for a dominant victory, scoring by just under four lengths from the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Koibito (NZ) (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}), with Defendant (Justify {USA}) a distant third, beaten nine lengths by the winner.
Waller praised both the filly and Collett’s well-judged ride.
Beside The Ocean winning the Maiden Handicap | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
“Jason knows her pretty well, and he thought he would stay out in the better going out wider and then come out in the straight, and save a little bit of ground.
“Full credit to the filly, she hasn’t had a lot go her way, she fell over one day at Canterbury, she just slipped over, and we had to wait for her first-up run. Her first-up run was really good, and the form out of that first run is also excellent.
“She is a very well-bred filly and a good addition to the Cunningham’s mare band in time, and a privilege to have a horse for them.”
Jason Collett | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Collett was similarly full of praise for the filly’s effort:
“She is a bit of a racey type, I drew widest, so I was fortunate to go straight out to the better ground out wide, and I was able to get her into a nice rhythm, and she was able to be the last off the bridle in the straight.”
Sales information: Beside The Ocean was purchased for $250,000 by Cunningham Thoroughbreds Pty Ltd and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) from the Vinery Stud draft at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Pedigree information: Beside The Ocean is the ninth foal out of Tallow (Street Cry {Ire]), a classy three-time winner, including in the G3 Vanity Stakes. She has left five winners with the outstanding young sire Farnan being the clear standout as he picked up the G1 Golden Slipper, G2 Todman Stakes, G2 Silver Slipper Stakes, and the R. Listed Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic all as a juvenile.
Connections of Beside The Ocean after winning the Maiden Handicap | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Tallow also left Sandbar (Snitzel) to be a four-time winner and dual Listed winner, so she has done a super job at stud.
In recent years, Tallow has produced a Zoustar yearling filly, and she is due to foal to Shinzo late this month.
Burma Star shows his class and professionalism
Race experience and raceday form came to the fore in the opener on a very wet Wednesday at Warwick Farm, as the Chris Waller-trained Burma Star (Exceed And Excel) proved far too good for his opposition.
The colt brought strong form into this maiden event. As a juvenile, he finished second on debut at Warwick Farm behind the talented Icarian Dream (Blue Point {Ire}), and later placed fourth in the G3 Canonbury Stakes behind Blitzburg (Snitzel). He also finished fourth behind King Of Pop (Farnan) and Savvy Hallie (Hellbent) at Warwick Farm.
Now under the care of Chris Waller following his move from James Cummings, Burma Star resumed this preparation with a solid second behind Tyreek (Snitzel), and gained deserved success second-up.
Despite the Heavy 10 conditions, there appeared to be a genuine tempo early, with Defiance (Zoustar) and Isle Of Wight (I Am Invincible) setting the pace. James McDonald settled Burma Star beautifully in the trail, and once he extricated off the fence and behind heels shortly after straightening, the result was never in doubt. The colt hit the front at the 200-metre mark and pulled away powerfully to score by just under four lengths.
Hush Hush (Street Boss {USA}) made good ground for second, while Defiance stuck on for third. Gus The Great (NZ) (Circus Maximus {Ire}) could be one to follow after finishing fourth despite missing the start and racing greenly.
Burma Star winning the Maiden Handicap | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Trainer Chris Waller was quick to credit the foundations laid by Burma Star’s previous stable.
“What we've seen from the Godolphin system is they've got amazing systems, good staff, and the horses are so well educated, they look fantastic. They were fit, so I'm just taking James's (Cummings) wages.
When asked about the colt’s potential and whether black type goals were on the radar, Waller deferred to McDonald for insight:
“The beauty of having James aboard is he'll give you good feedback as well, so see what he says, and hopefully we can pick up black type for the mare and the Godolphin operation.”
Chris Waller | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Jockey James McDonald was equally pleased with the performance and effort of the promising colt.
“He was fit today when he's 1200 back to 1100, he had a nice conditioning run, and he was always going to probably win today,” said McDonald.
“Track’s obviously heavy, but I was on the right horse.
“He's progressive for sure, he's still got a bit of developing to do and he'll probably improve on top of the ground a bit more, and obviously a win does a horse's confidence a huge amount of good, and I'm sure he'll take good benefit from that.”
“He's (Burma Star) progressive for sure, he's still got a bit of developing to do and he'll probably improve on top of the ground a bit more.” - James McDonald
Pedigree information: Burma Star is a homebred for Godolphin and is the second foal out of Gongs (Dawn Approach {Ire}), who was a four-time winner on the track and was classy enough to place in the G2 Silver Slipper Stakes, and run fourth in the G2 Percy Sykes Stakes, and the G2 Reisling Stakes.
His grandam is the smart filly Belcentra (Bel Esprit) who won the Listed Desirable Stakes, and was placed in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (f), and the G3 Thoroughbred Club Stakes.
Gongs, since producing Burma Star, has left a 2-year-old named Tibetan Bell (Exceed And Excel), a yearling colt by Bivouac, and is due to foal to Anamoe in October
Humble Trader too good on debut
He may be raw and still learning, but what Humble Trader (Hanseatic) doesn’t lack is talent and tenacity. The Greg Eurell-trained gelding impressed when scoring on debut at Sandown, showing he has the right attributes to develop into a smart performer.
The 3-year-old son of Hanseatic had won three jump-outs leading into the debut assignment, and he delivered under Jamie Mott in a race that had no shortage of early pressure.
There was solid tempo from the outset, with Comradeship (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) leading. Mott positioned Humble Trader second, sitting outside the leader, while the well-favoured duo Wetumpka (Alabama Express) and Gotta Good Feeling (So You Think {NZ}) slotted in behind them, enjoying economical runs in transit.
As they rounded the turn, Mott had to urge Humble Trader along, but the colt responded with a strong kick. At the 200-metre mark, Wetumpka loomed wider with his run, and Gotta Good Feeling was threading through along the inside. Still, Humble Trader dug in gamely, showing grit to hold them off and score by three-quarters of a length over Wetumpka, with Gotta Good Feeling close behind in third.
Trainer Greg Eurell was pleased with the effort and explained the stable had been patient while waiting for the right opportunity to launch his career.
Greg Eurell | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“We were scheduled to kick off a couple of weeks ago, but he drew poorly and we would just wait for the right opportunity,” Eurell said.
“It’s always tough when you come straight to town. He had to work hard for it, he got a bit lost coming down the hill, and then still picked himself up and hit the line pretty good. Once he sort of works it out a little more, he is going to turn into a lovely horse.”
Jockey Jamie Mott was also impressed, noting the gelding's composure and fight when asked for an effort under pressure.
“One thing he has done coming into today is all of his trials have been really good without much pressure on him, so that was sort of the only thing that wasn’t ticked for today - was what he was going to be like under pressure,” Mott said.
Humble Trader winning the Maiden Plate | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“I had to do a lot of work early, and Ben Allen made me work on the favourite, so he could get a good position. Once I got there, he really switched off underneath me, to the point that I needed to encourage him to stay going.
“So he is still a bit green, but I loved his fight late and it felt like nothing was getting past me.
“Beautiful horse, really exciting and promising horse going forward.”
“So he (Humble Trader) is still a bit green, but I loved his fight late and it felt like nothing was getting past me. Beautiful horse, really exciting and promising horse going forward.” - Jamie Mott
Sales information: Humble Trader was purchased by Greg Eurell for $60,000 from the Bucklee Farm draft at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
Pedigree information: Humble Trader is from the first crop of Hanseatic, and is the eighth foal, and seventh winner for No Vanity (Keep The Faith), who was a three-time winning sprinter and multiple metropolitan placed in Melbourne.
Humble Trader as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
Among her seven winners are Clarice Cliffs (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), who was a four-time winner and placed in the G3 Frances Tressady Stakes. Humble Trader's grandam is No Mischief (Mister C {USA}), who counted the Listed Vanity Stakes amongst her five wins.
