With wet weather in Sydney playing havoc with the trial schedule last week there was a big turnout for Canterbury trials on Monday with a key Everest runner in cruise control and several under the radar 3YO’s showing spring potential.
On our stud tour last week through Victoria we started with a visit to Twin Hills Stud at Cootamundra which is the home of well proven stakes sire Smart Missile, whose Group I winning son Briasa was in action at Canterbury.
The dashing grey was having his first hit out this preparation for Team Hawkes and was never off the bridle looking sharp and well with Zac Lloyd in the saddle.
It looked like a walk in the park for Briasa, who scored by nearly two lengths in a trial that also featured Group winning 3YO colts North England and Rivellino. In the previous heat two more of our new season 3YO colt stars in Nepotism and King of Pop went around with both finding the line as you would hope to see and later in the morning Devil Night stepped out to finish second in his heat against older horses.
Of the under the radar brigade Team Hawkes will be looking to snare a maiden win for blueblood I Am Invincible colt Federalist, the first foal of multiple Group I winner Arcadia Queen. He had three starts in the autumn and while he didn’t place, he did not disgrace and two of those runs were in G1 class.
The Chris Waller trained Wootton Bassett (GB) colt Providence fits the same profile having also had three starts in his first campaign the last of them a fourth in the G1 JJ Atkins behind Cool Archie. Providence is a Wootton Bassett with a staying profile given his dam South Bank is a G1 placed Fastnet Rock daughter of Rezoned, who won a Group II SA Fillies Classic at 2500m and is a sister to Chris Waller’s Victoria Derby winner Preferment.
Whatalegacy, the unraced half-brother by King’s Legacy to Group I winner Benedetta, beat Skyhook in a barrier trial last month which caught our eye and the Bjorn Baker trained colt looked good again here leading all the way to win.
Click here for all the trial results at Breednet with Sale Mail and at Racing NSW with video.
