Cover image courtesy of Coolmore
Angel Eyes delivers on debut for Team Hayes. The beautifully bred filly is out of G1 South Australian Derby winner Qafila (Not A Single Doubt) and is trained by Ben, Will, and JD Hayes. She races in the famous colours of Coolmore, alongside fellow owners Mr P. Shanahan and Westerberg.
Although slightly slow out of the gates, Angel Eyes quickly mustered speed to settle just behind the leaders, although a little cluttered up in the hands of Luke Currie. Eyes Of Blue (Snitzel) kicked up along the inside to set a genuine tempo, with Light Filled (Starspangledbanner) content to sit outside the leader.
At the 300-metre mark, Angel Eyes peeled out and always looked the winner, though she was made to work late to hold off a determined effort from Light Filled, who gave a strong kick after taking over the lead under Declan Bates. Romantic Miss (Toronado {Ire}) was an eye-catcher, running on strongly out wide to grab third for John Allen and trainer Tom Dabernig.
Video: Watch Angel Eyes in Race 2 at Ballarat, vision courtesy of Racing.com
When asked whether that was the position the stable expected the filly to land in, stable representative Will Evans said, “Not really, but that’s just where she landed. She was in good rhythm and happy. Once she got the gap at the top of the straight, she took it really quickly - she joined in real quick and sort of had no idea what to do in the straight.”
“It was good that she got her head down. It’s great for Coolmore and all the connections, and great for the Hayes name to get a win out of Qafila.
“She is a nice horse, still pretty woolly - but she’s going to make the grade. Everyone at home thinks she is potentially city-class up in trip, so it was exciting to get the win today.”
“She (Angel Eyes) is a nice horse, still pretty woolly - but she’s going to make the grade.” - Will Evans
On the importance of the win in the Coolmore colours, Evans added, “They are huge supporters of the stable. These nice, well-bred fillies - you want them to win.”
Jockey Luke Currie was also impressed with the filly's effort, “She was actually really good. The only thing she did wrong, was she got a little bit lost when I came out and asked her to go. Her action went up, and coming down that dip a little bit, she just got a little bit unbalanced.
“She was going to put the race away and just levelled a little bit. She still looks like she has a bit of maturing to do, and a little bit of time will help her.
Luke Currie | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“She might be better when she steps out a bit further, 1000 may have been a touch on the short side - but she got the job done, and a good job by the boys to find the race for her.”
Sales info: Angel Eyes was purchased by Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) for $200,000 from the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Pedigree info: Angel Eyes is the second foal out of Qafila, a top-class racemare who won the G1 South Australian Derby, G2 Angus Armanasco Stakes, and Listed Debutant Stakes. Her first foal, Filadeel (Dundeel {NZ}), is a winner over 2200 metres. Qafila has since produced two fillies by I Am Invincible and, in late August, foaled a Zoustar colt.
Reserve Bank’s little brother delivers on debut
Ornithology (Too Darn Hot {GB}) made a successful debut at Ballarat on Wednesday for trainer Chris Waller and Damian Lane. Owned by Katsumi Yoshida, the colt had shown promising signs in jump-outs, including a win over 1000 metres at Flemington on 25 September.
Damian Lane was content to settle just off the speed before making a well-judged move around the home turn to expose the young colt, angling three-wide to find clear running. Ornithology sustained a strong gallop to defeat the fast-finishing Neverenoughlego (Ole Kirk), with Justibella (Justify {USA}) making a promising debut to finish a length further back in third.
Jockey Damian Lane commented about the colts effort, “He trialled well without being able to be ultra confident - I just had to hope he’d taken some improvement from those trials, which he had, and he turned out a good performance today.
“The speed was only moderate, so I had a soft run. I probably put him in the race a little bit earlier than I normally would, but I just didn’t want to get left flat-footed, and he was really tough when it counted.
“He was pretty good - a little bit lively here (in the yard), but once he got out and going, he was more mind on the job. The second horse got to me quite early in the straight, so to get competitive, and fight it out strongly is something that will hold him in good stead.”
Sales info: Ornithology was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for $280,000 from the Segenhoe Stud draft at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Pedigree info: He is the third winner out of Our Songbird (Fastnet Rock), whose progeny includes G1 Goodwood Handicap winner Reserve Bank (Capitalist), a winner also of the G2 Tobin Bronze Stakes and Listed Redelva Stakes. She is also the dam of five-time winner Jailbreak (Rubick), a $470,000 purchase at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Our Songbird, a metropolitan winner over 1500 metres in Sydney, is a half-sister to Listed winners Corsaire (Anabaa {USA}) and Debonairly (Snitzel), both of whom have gone on to be successful broodmares.
Miss Freelove storms to victory at Warwick Farm
The Peter Snowden-trained Miss Freelove (Tassort) looked every bit the professional at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, storming home to claim a dominant win in the 3-year-old Benchmark 68 over 1100 metres. Given a perfectly timed ride by Tim Clark, the talented filly powered away to score by just over two and a half lengths.
There was plenty of pace on early, with Social Circle (Maurice {Jpn}) rolling forward out wide, while the well-backed Whatalegacy (King’s Legacy), a half-brother to Group 1 winner Benedetta (Hellbent), was made to work before settling second on the outside.
Clark was content to drop Miss Freelove out to last, allowing the speed battle up front to unfold. As Whatalegacy loomed large at the 300 metres and looked the winner, Clark had the filly travelling sweetly and working through her gears.
When she let rip, she certainly showed an impressive turn of foot,” said Clark.
“We were back further than we'd planned. The way she travelled, I thought they must be going quite fast because she's a fast filly, and she was struggling to keep on to the back of them.”
Once clear, she let down strongly and surged past her rivals, putting the race to bed with ease. Whatalegacy stuck on well for second, while Swift Legend (Dundeel {NZ}) was solid in third, finishing three-quarters of a length behind the runner-up.
Miss Freelove is raced by a syndicate including Trilogy, Mr R. I. Chapman, Mr B. T. Corcoran, Mr D. Whelan, Mr N. J. Yeomans, and Mr J. J. Roughley. She has always shown promise, and Wednesday’s performance added to an already tidy record of two wins and two placings from just five starts. Her only unplaced run came when finishing a meritorious fourth in the Listed Woodlands Stakes, where she was beaten just two lengths by Stardom (Zoustar).
Sales info: Miss Freelove was purchased by Trilogy Racing and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) for $110,000 from the Twin Hills Stud draft at the 2024 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.
Pedigree info: Miss Freelove is the third live foal out of the unraced Vee (Sebring), who has made a promising start to her broodmare career with all three of her runners to date being winners. Vee is a half-sister to Terror Force (Al Maher), a six-time winner who claimed the Listed Perth Stakes. Deeper in the pedigree sits Group 1 winner and stallion Mr Innocent, as well as his Listed-winning full sister Verdict Declared (Mr Henrysee {USA}).
In more recent years, Vee has produced a 2-year-old colt named Veranders (Anders), and she is due to foal to Generation early next month.
