Juvenile Summary: Stay Inside gets brilliant start with stakes winner Incognito

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

The perfect beginning for Slipper winning sire Stay Inside

All eyes at Newgate Farm were on the G3 Breeders Plate with two runners by their first season sire and G1 Golden Slipper winner Stay Inside. Such is the reputation of Golden Slipper winners at stud that the pair, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Eviction Notice and Michael Freedman-trained Incognito, were sent out as second and third favourites. Punters put their preferences on fellow first season sire Home Affairs colt I’m Ya Huckleberry who had been second to Incognito in a a trial for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Eviction Notice, ridden by Tim Clark, led into the straight along the rail, but was swamped by I’m Ya Huckleberry and jockey Adam Hyeronimus before Incognito and Tommy Berry came flying from mid-field to take victory by a neck from I’m Ya Huckleberry whose stablemate Revengence (Hellbent) was strong late for third.

“It's a big thrill to win a race like this, but to win it with a son of a colt that we trained to win the (2021) Golden Slipper is an extra big thrill,” Freedman said, referring to Stay Inside.

“You know, Incognito's always really impressed us at home. He's always shown he's got a good turn of foot, which he showed in the trial, but I think he just got up beside those other horses and was having a bit of a look at them.

“So, we worked him with an older horse here on Tuesday morning to give him something to sort of aim up on, and it was vastly different. He sat off the back of him and worked past him and did it well, so I thought if we could replicate that today, you know, we'd be thereabouts.”

Amongst Incognito’s ownership is James Harron Bloodstock Colts, TFI, G1G Colts & Breeding, Love Racing, and Balius Farm.

The last Breeders Plate winner to win the Golden Slipper was Capitalist, who was also a James Harron Bloodstock purchase. “We'll have a chat with James (Harron) and the crew as Incognito is a Magic Millions graduate, so I guess that is a possibility. Otherwise, a nice break and then start focusing on the autumn.”

Sales info: One of 13 seven figure yearlings sold at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Incognito was sold by Eureka Stud to James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership and Tony Fung Investments for $1 million.

Pedigree info: Bred by Blacksoil Bloodstock, who bought Incognito’s dam as a yearling for $600,000, Incognito is the second foal of three-race winner Bleu Zebra (I Am Invincible). She has a yearling filly by Pinatubo (Ire) and a colt foal of Don Corleone. Bleu Zebra is a half-sister to Listed Cap d'Antibes Stakes winner Fox Swift (Foxwedge) and this is the family of Group 2 winner Pay My Bail (NZ) (Justice Prevails), dam of triple Group 2 winner White Moss (Mossman) and Listed winner White Sage (Reset).

Big boots to fill for Shiki

After just missing in the G2 Breeders Plate with I’m Ya Huckleberry (Home Affairs), the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable took out the G3 Gimcrack Stakes by the barest of margins with 2-year-old filly Shiki (Too Darn Hot {GB}) who lead all the way and clung on to win for jockey Tim Clark by a nose. She becomes stakes winner number 28 for Too Darn Hot.

John Thompson-trained Screen Icon (Nicconi) lunged on the line for jockey and Bjorn Baker-trained Masvingo (Zoustar) finished rapidly from mid-field for third.

“All prep we have been drawing comparisons between her and Lady Of Camelot and she's done a great job today. She'll go for a break now and be set for a similar campaign, hopefully, she can be just as effective,” said Adrian Bott. Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) ran fourth in this race on debut in 2023 before winning the 2024 G1 Golden Slipper for the stable.

“She deserved that, she's a very sharp filly. Just got to teach her to relax a little bit, which no doubt she will going forward. I've been so pleased with the way she's been doing everything for us at home. She'll go away for a nice break now, and the next preparation she'll come back a lot more mature mentally and physically.

“She's been a little bit rough in (appearance) all preparation, she's been making good improvements, but there's still a lot to come. I think that's an indication of where she's at and the improvement to come. I was just delighted that she was able to do it today. She's obviously got some natural speed and natural brilliance.”

Shiki's ownership includes Kurrinda Bloodstock, Riverstone Lodge, Horseshoe Investments, Mr Carl Holt, and the Australian Chinese Jockey Club Racing.

Sale info: Bred by Cornerstone Stud and Millar Racing and sold by Cornerstone Stud at the Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale for $150,000 to Riverstone Lodge and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA), Shiki was a good pinhook when onsold at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Riverstone Lodge to Kurrinda Bloodstock along with her trainers for $420,000.

Pedgiree info: Shiki is the fourth foal from three-race winner Jest Excel (Exceed And Excel) whose first foal Love My Louis (Capitalist) has won three times. Her second foal, a colt by Pride Of Dubai, was exported to China, and her 3-year-old gelding Excelboom (Spirit Of Boom) was placed at two last season.

Following Shiki, Jest Excel has a yearling filly by Ole Kirk and is currently in foal to Artorius with a December covering date. Jest Excel is a half-sister to G2 Maribyrnong Plate winner Jiang (Testa Rossa) and Listed Elwick Stakes-placed Rock Jester (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}).

Touch of Little Brose in Eurocanto’s Maribyrnong Trial victory

An affinity between Lindsay Park’s Hayes brothers and New Zealand based Per Incanto (USA) was again demonstrated in Saturday’s Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes when 2-year-old colt Eurocanto won on debut. Eurocanto became the fifth stakes winning juvenile for Per Incanto who has 34 stakes winners in total. One of those juvenile stakes winners is Lindsay Park-trained G1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Little Brose, who now stands alongside his sire at Little Avondale Stud.

Eurocanto, ridden by Mark Zahra, came flying up the centre of the track at Flemington to finish over the top of Clinton McDonald-trained filly Streisand (Magnus) who was second by a head, with Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained filly One Day At A Time (Bivouac) in third.

“He was picked out by our sales team up at the Magic Millions. Dean Hawthorne does a terrific job,” JD Hayes said.

“We really liked him, and we’ve had good success with the stallion. He’s an athletic style of horse with plenty of improvement to come and it was good to be able to kick off his career in that fashion.”

Hayes was quite to point out the similarity to Little Brose, aside from both being Australian born sons of Per Incanto. “It’s a little bit early, but he was a little ‘Brosey’ there. It was a terrific ride. He got last crack at them, and he attacked the line which is what you like to see. We’ll see how he pulls up - it would be tempting, all systems go, into Cup week, but first and foremost we’ll see how he is first thing in the morning.”

Sales info: Bred by Evergreen Stud Farm, Eurocanto was bought by Lindsay Park Racing for $250,000 from Evergreen Stud Farm’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft. His dam, Shespending (NZ) (Savabeel) went through the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2023 in foal with Eurocanto and was sold by Sullivan Bloodstock to Botty’s Bloodstock for $260,000.

His large group of owners include Lindsay Park Bloodstock and Mr Carl Holt.

Pedigree info: Shespending raced once, and her first foal 3-year-old filly Shoebill (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) is unraced. She has a yearling colt and filly foal both by Farnan.

Shespending is a full sister to Listed Lonhro Plate winner Tilianam (NZ), and both are out of Listed VRC AR Creswick Stakes-placed Spending (NZ) (Pins). This is the family of Group 1 winner and sire Sacred Falls (NZ), Hong Kong Group 3 winner Packing Pins (NZ) (Pins), G2 Angus Armanasco Stakes winner Shopaholic (NZ) (Pins) and G2 Manawatu Challenge Stakes winner Splurge (NZ) (Savabeel).