Saturday preview: 'Faultless' Tempted out to beat the boys

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

Tempted ready to rattle the boys in Run To The Rose

She was the Blue Army’s star filly last season when winning two Group 2 events and running third in the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes, and word suggests that Tempted (Street Boss {USA}) has returned even better this season for new trainer Ciaron Maher. The 3-year-old is the only filly in the G2 Run To The Rose field on Saturday, versus a full field of 15 colts and geldings at the time of writing.

Johann Gerard-Dubord, Maher’s New South Wales assistant trainer, is under no illusions as to how tough a task faces Tempted, but also truly believes she is the filly that could best the boys.

“Everything she does at home, she’s an ultra professional,’’ Gerard-Dubord told Racing NSW. “She’s very mature physically and mentally, and her form obviously reads very well. On what she did at two, on what she shows at trackwork, we don’t have many horses like her. She looks pretty special.”

Godolphin produced the only Run To The Rose filly winner in the race’s history with In Secret (I Am Invincible) in 2022, and few others have tried - it takes a serious filly to even take a shot.

Tempted jumps from barrier 7, having trialled once this preparation, and Gerard-Dubord expects the current Heavy 8 track to pose no real challenge to her.

“The way she moves, you would think she would handle a wet track,’’ he said. “Nothing fazes her, she has a smooth action. She switches off, her work is very sharp and she’s a horse that has a great recovery. She’s the kind of horse you couldn’t fault.

“When James (McDonald) jumped off her after the trial, he said she’s very sharp. On the track, she’s the most beautiful horse to do anything with. She is very exciting.”

Written Tycoon on track to keep his 3-year-old crown

Champion Sire and last season’s Champion 3YO Sire Written Tycoon currently leads the 3-year-old sire leaderboard in Australia; ahead by both winners, stakes winners, and prize money, he is the only stallion in double digits with winners and sits more than $200,000 ahead of his nearest rival before Saturday.

His spread and quality of entries across the 3-year-old stakes racing at Flemington and Rosehill Gardens seems like his position in the premiership will be secured for another week, especially down at Flemington, where six of his progeny have accepted to run across all three Listed races for 3-year-olds.

Dual Group 3 winner Tycoon Star, who was third in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes, will be joined in the Listed Poseidon Stakes by Cannyworth and Bedourie, both of whom are last start winners having their first swing at stakes level - making up a third of the field.

Growing Empire won this race last year after also winning the G3 McNeil Stakes - also Tycoon Star’s most recent victory, on a day where his sire recorded a stakes double - and before placing in three Group 1s in a row en route to commencing his stud career this spring. After Tycoon Star's McNeil victory, the Lindsay Park team confirmed the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes was top of the colt’s agenda for the spring.

“He looks sharp and he’s already a winner down the straight,” Ben Hayes said after the race, and it’s hard to look past Tycoon Star, given his talent advantage over his rivals.

Signature Scent and Scenic Point clash in the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes - Signature Scent came off the better when they last met in the G3 Quezette Stakes, finishing fourth and over two lengths ahead of Scenic Point, who won the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes last season. The effort has Signature Scent on the second line of betting for the race - which was won last year by subsequent Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) - behind My Gladiola (I Am Invincible), who was second in the Quezette.

Soroush is accepted for the Listed Exford Plate at the time of writing, but did start on Thursday.

Heading north to Rosehill, top-performing colts Skyhook and Grand Prairie are split between the G2 Run To The Rose and the G3 Ming Dynasty Handicap respectively. The pair met four weeks ago in the Listed Rosebud, where Skyhook came away with the win, despite giving 7kg to the runner-up Grand Prairie. Skyhook’s co-trainer Gerald Ryan is opting to follow the same path he used with the late Menari, who won both G1 Golden Rose Stakes lead-up races before running third in the grand finale.

“I’d have thought he’d improve (off of his first-up effort) because he had one soft trial prior to winning first-up,” Ryan said. “He drops 3.5kg and meets them okay at the weights. I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far. He had a nice tickover trial last Tuesday and worked well on the course proper.

“All of it worked for Menari, he won the Rosebud and then won the Run To The Rose.”

Last year, the Ming Dynasty was the kick-off for Lady Shenandoah’s (Snitzel) spectacular 3-year-old, could it portend the same for Grand Prairie, who won the G3 Up And Coming Stakes last start? The son of Group 1 winner Viddora (I Am Invincible) has drawn wide in a potential field of 13, but has the assistance of Kerrin McEvoy on board to assist him.

Of the above, five are raced by Yulong, who stand the 23-year-old Written Tycoon for a private fee this year.

Mr Brightside butts heads with five rivals in Makybe Diva

Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) faces a field of five in his attempt to win a third G1 Makybe Diva Stakes in a row; how have his rivals fared against Lindsay Park’s heavyweight in previous clashes?

Tom Kitten (Harry Angel {Ire}) - Old sparring partners. He was second to Mr Brightside in the G1 Futurity Stakes in the autumn, before getting the better of him in the G1 All-Star Mile at his next start. Comes into this first-up off of two jump-outs.

Antino (NZ) (Redwood {GB}) - Beaten two lengths by Mr Brightside last start in Treasurethe Moment’s (Alabama Express) G1 Memsie Stakes. Shapes up better over the mile.

Mark Twain (NZ) (Shocking) - Having his first punt at Group 1 level since running in the G1 Australian Derby two years ago, so has dodged Mr Brightside to date.

Gallery: Mr Brightside's five rivals in the G1 Makybe Diva Stakes

Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock) - Haven’t run into each other since this very race last year, where Mr Brightside came off best by six and a half lengths. But given the threat from the Waller camp that she’s somehow returned bigger and better this season, that margin should be a lot narrower.

Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio) - Also hasn’t run into Mr Brightside before, as she was running in her own age group last season, but given the scare she gave James McDonald on Via Sistina in the G1 Winx Stakes last start, she profiles as one for him to watch out for.

Epsom awaits Autumn Glow after Theo Marks test

A less swamp-like track awaits unbeaten mare Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) at Rosehill Gardens this Saturday, where she will bid to extend her unbeaten streak to six in the G2 Theo Marks Stakes. On Friday, the track rates a Heavy 8, two points better than what she faced a fortnight ago when winning the G3 Toy Show Quality at Randwick.

Speaking to the media earlier in the week, trainer Chris Waller was certain that the mare was right on song for her likely tilt at the G1 Epsom Handicap in October.

“I’m very happy with her,” Waller said. “That first run is pretty important to see they’ve come back well, but also for fitness. The 1300 (of the Theo Marks) will probably suit her a little bit better than the 1100 (of the Toy Show).”

Waller was modest about the mare’s abilities - she has long been something special to her owners at Arrowfield Stud, but Waller was careful not to over-hype the mare before she snares her maiden Group 1.

“She shows some exciting things, but we want to see her tick that Group 1 box before we start talking a bit more,” he said. “But she’s got all the signs of a nice horse and we haven’t found the ceiling with her yet.”

With James McDonald down in Flemington, Kerrin McEvoy gets back on board for the second time, having previously steered Autumn Glow to her Up And Coming victory last spring.

“She’s obviously a star on the rise,” McEvoy told The Age. “She was good first-up, and I’ve been able to sit on her a couple of times, (so I’m) looking forward to getting on her on Saturday.

“She was brilliant that day (in the Up And Coming Stakes), so she’s the star of the card on Saturday for me.”

McEvoy has his fingers crossed for a shot at the Epsom with Autumn Glow, if all goes well on Saturday; “It’d be nice (to ride her in the Epsom). She’s rated 105. If she wins on the weekend, I’m not sure what weight she gets in an Epsom, but hopefully you (can) win on her and then you get a chance to ride her again.”

Yeomans saddles first runner as solo trainer in Let’s Elope

Four weeks after announcing she would go solo, Lucy Yeomans will saddle her first runner on Saturday and could kick things off with a bang, with Jenni The Fox (Too Darn Hot {GB}) lining up in the G2 Let’s Elope Stakes.

Previously trained by Alex Rae, the 4-year-old mare, who is one of the Jenni fillies belonging to Pride Of Jenni’s (Pride Of Dubai) owner Tony Ottobre, was a winner at Cranbourne and second in the G2 Angus Armanasco Stakes in the autumn behind Treasurethe Moment.

“Tony (Ottobre) has always been a very big supporter, which I’m very grateful for,” Yeomans told RadioTAB on Friday. “When I was in partnership with Lloyd (Kennewell), he sent us a couple of horses, and then as soon as he heard the news I was going out on my own, he said that when I was ready, he would send me a couple of horses as well. He kindly dropped off three, and one of them is Jenni The Fox.”

She is one of five horses on Yeomans’ books, along with two other Ottobre trainees; Enchanted Jenni (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) has placed in her last three starts and Sassy Jenni (Shalaa {Ire}) was a winner on debut as a juvenile before running third to Growing Empire in the Listed St Albans Stakes and fourth in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes last spring.

“We’re going there hoping to win, but it’s obviously a very tough race," Yeomans said of Saturday. "I’ve only had the horse two weeks, but Tony sent her to me because she’s been going a little bit too keenly in her races and he knows that I have an equestrian background, and my partner is Blake Shinn, so he thought that her being with us would be the best chance to get her to relax a little bit. So we’ve been doing a lot of flatwork with her and tinkering with her gear.

“Obviously we would be delighted with a win, but the goal tomorrow is for her to travel kindly and hit the line strongly.”

Yeomans has implemented a tongue tie and a stronger bit at home to aid Jenni The Fox.

“She knows her job, she’s quite competitive, so it will be interesting to see how it all feels for her on raceday.”

The commitment of a handful of Ottobre horses means that Yeomans’ six boxes at Cranbourne are full already. Yeomans’ other trainees are multiple winner Parvati Party (NZ) (Complacent) and last start winner Thunder Hawk (American Pharoah {USA}), whom Yeomans previously trained in partnership with Lloyd Kennewell.