The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable had a stellar last season with their juveniles and the two biggest stars of the team stepped out as spring three year-olds at the Randwick trials on Monday with Storm Boy winning his heat and Lady of Camelot a close second.
Justify (USA) colt Storm Boy lost his unbeaten record when third in the Golden Slipper to Lady of Camelot and was then fourth on the heavy ground in the Group I ATC Sires Produce Stakes before spelling.
Ridden by James McDonald in his 850m heat, Storm Boy travelled deep from a wide gate and was always working within himself to score a narrow win over four year-old Snitzel gelding Moravia. He looked big and strong and galloping against the year older Moravia.
Written Tycoon filly Lady of Camelot won the Golden Slipper and then had one more run finishing second in the Group II ATC Percy Sykes Stakes before spelling and was having her first hit out since then. Ridden by Tim Clark, she was shaded at the finish by older gelding Insurrection and they kicked along the final furlong with the overall time of 50.87 seconds quicker than Storm Boy’s 51.58.
Golden Slipper winners have had a terrible record for enhancing their juvenile success in subsequent preparations in recent years so Lady of Camelot will be looking to buck that trend when she returns to the racing.
