The three-year-old all Too Hard filly Forbidden Love has been a model of consistency and was rewarded with a Group 1 success following a remarkable performance in Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 Cellarbrations Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
When Nash Rawiller found a gap between runners at the 200 metres, Forbidden Love produced an electric turn of foot to defeat Vangelic (Vancouver) by three lengths with a further short-neck back to Elizabeel (Power) in third.
Trained by Richard and Michael Freedman, Forbidden Love won the Listed Reginald Allen Quality at Randwick on October 17. That earned her a trip south two weeks later where she finished third behind Shout The Bar and Odeum in the Group 1 Empire Stakes at Flemington.
First-up this preparation the daughter of All Too Hard won the Listed Gosford Guineas before finishing midfield in the Magic Millions 3yo Guineas.
Placed in the Group II Darley Furious Stakes and Listed Heritage Stakes, Forbidden Love advances her record to five wins and four thirds from 11 starts with earnings of $695750.
“There’s quite a story behind the filly too in how we’ve ended up being in the ownership with a great bunch of people,” Michael Freedman said.
“I was a little bit despondent after her run in the Magic Millions. I thought she’d run better and she just didn’t cope with the trip at all. But she had a couple of weeks off at Julian Blaxland’s farm up in Queensland and he rang me and said she’s doing that well you should bring her home and get her ready for something.
“She’s come a long way, I mean it was less than twelve months ago she was going around in midweeks at Canterbury I think. She’s just kept improving and maturing which is a bit typical of the breed. Not that I was confident coming into today, but Wajid, full credit to him he does a lot of work with her and he knows her very well and he galloped her Tuesday and said ‘Boss, if she’s going to win a Group 1 it’ll be this Saturday.
“I think we’ll just see how she pulls up. The Coolmore (Classic) is only a couple of weeks away which would certainly be worth thinking about. I guess we might even think about a Doncaster later on, who knows, I mean she’d have no weight in it. I think from memory we’ve kept her in it. I hope we have anyway.”
Bred by Kerry O'Brien Thoroughbreds, the daughter of All Too Hard was purchased for $150,000 by Richard Freedman out of the Bhima Stud draft at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
A half-sister to the Melbourne winner Kuramae (Foxwedge), Forbidden Love is the second foal of the class More Than Ready (USA) mare Juliet's Princess (USA).
A 5-time winner and stakes-placed in the Listed SAJC Laelia Stakes, Juliet's Princess is out of the unraced Thunder Gulch (USA) mare Malayan Princess.
Juliet's Princess (USA) has a two-year-old Foxwedge colt named Royal Fox that was purchased out of the Bhima draft by Matthew Williams Racing for $40,000 at this year's Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
After missing in 2018, Juliet's Princess (USA) foaled an Epaulette colt last spring and was covered by All Too Hard.
