Sporting the silks carried by her sire I Am Invincible, the 2-year-old filly Rantan overcame difficulties to make a winning career debut in the prophetically named I Am Invincible Easter Yearlings Midway Maiden (900m) at Newcastle on Wednesday.
Ridden by Tim Clark for Ron Quinton, Rantan went off an odds-on favourite following an impressive barrier trial win. Forced back through the field after being caught wide early, Rantan switched to the centre of the track down the straight to defeat the Shalaa (IRE) debutant Shall Be by a half-length with the Merchant Navy filly Sneaky Sofia three-quarters of a length back in third.
“I thought she might win easier,” Quinton said.
“It looked like she didn’t know where she was going. Lucky it was a long straight, and lucky it was not Wyong or Gosford.
“She got the job done and looks likely to be better at 1200m. I will be interested to see what Tim says, but it looked like she didn’t know where to put her legs next.
“If she comes through this well, I might give her one more run, then bring her back for the spring as a 3yo.
“The Gall family have been great supporters. My first yearling, when I started training, was one of theirs, Mamzell Pedrille, and I haven’t had one better since.”
A homebred for Gall Bloodstock, Rantan is a sister to Randwick and Rosehill winner Infatuation, who was second in the $1,000,000 Golden Gift and fourth in the Magic Millions 2yo Classic, and the talented Ring Of Steel, and a half to Gotta Kiss, who was second to Rothfire in the Group 1 JJ Atkins Stakes.
The Gall family’s Pedrille Thoroughbreds purchased Rantan’s stakes-placed dam Sweet Kiss (Strada) for $240,000 at the 2017 National Broodmare Sale.
Sweet Kiss died when foaling an I Am Invincible last November.
