Six weeks out from the Magic Millions 2yo Classic, and if bookmakers are right, a serious threat has not appeared to Written Tycoon’s Gimcrack Stakes winner Coolangatta.
There is a bewildering lack of two-year-old metropolitan races on Saturday. However, several highly regarded types are set to contest the Written By-1st Yearlings 2022 Handicap over 1200m on a heavy track at Doomben.
The early favourites are the Capitalist colt Capital Tower, an impressive winner over 1100m at Doomben when on debut, and the Lonhro colt Fearless Knight, who stormed home when figuring what racing is all about when third on debut over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast.
An impressive trialer making her career debut is the Russian Revolution filly Russian Warrior, who will give Allan Chau his first winner as a trainer.
Russian Warrior was the most expensive of six yearlings purchased by A List Stud at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Consigned by Sledmere Stud, the daughter of Group II Reisling Slipper Stakes winner French Fern was knocked down for $425,000, the equal highest priced yearling at the sale by her first season sire.
A List consigned Russian Warrior to the 2021 MM Gold Coast 2YOs In Training Sale with a minimum price tag of $535,000. When she fell well short, she will sport the emerging Hong Kong-based outfit’s pink with navy blue seams.
Nathan Tinkler’s Patinack Farm bred French Fern, a daughter of Patinack’s shuttle stallion Lope De Vega (IRE), out of the stakes-winning Strategic mare La Famelia.
By the time French Fern was a yearling, Patinack was in deep trouble. From the second crop of her now world-renowned sire, the yearling French Fern was among the Patinack sell-off at the Magic Millions in 2014.
The astute trainer David Payne made the final bid of $20,000 and did not have to wait long to realise he had a bargain.
After a debut third at Randwick, the daughter of Lope de Vega (IRE) carried the colours of Wilf Mula to victory at Canterbury before a career-high triumph in the Reisling Slipper at Randwick.
After disappointing in Capitalist’s Golden Slipper, French Fern made just three more starts before time was called on her career.
China Horse Club paid $700,000 for French Fern when consigned by Aston Bloodstock & Partners to the 2017 Inglis Chairman’s Sale.
Her first foal, Fabulous Choice (Extreme Choice), has yet to place from four starts.
There are few bigger names in the bloodstock world than Stanley Wootton, who had a significant role in French Fern’s family development.
If you have heard of Star Kingdom, Biscay, Todman, and Bletchingly, then you would know of Wootton, whose 1974 VATC Blue Diamond Stakes winner Forina is the fourth dam of French Fern.
By Vibrant out of the Todman mare Tobalina, Forina produced the AJC Widden Stakes winner Biscarina the dam of one of racing’s all-time great sprinters, the 8-time Group 1 winner Schillaci (Salieri).
Biscarina is also the dam of VRC The Flemington Rose Stakes winner Bialia (Bluebird), and the 3-time winner Sabrina Fair, the granddam of Segenhoe’s mighty warrior Voodoo Lad (I Am Invincible).
Schillaci’s three-quarter sister Biancaneve (Salieri) is the granddam of Group 1 winner Russeting (Commands) and French Fern’s dam La Familia (Strategic).
The daughter of Lope De Vega (IRE) foaled a Zoustar colt on August 29.
Newgate Farm’s Russian Revolution has a large draft of 39 catalogued for the Magic Millions and 30 at the Inglis Classic.
