Four heats were won at the Randwick trials on Tuesday morning by juveniles that included a couple of unraced youngsters and one with a name that will make a lot of people that weren’t born this century back him!
For the unenlightened, Groundhog Day was a 1993 comedy movie starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell and a key part of that movie is Punxsutawney Phil. I won’t bore you with the details, but if you have an hour or two to while away and don’t mind laughing so hard your face hurts… do yourself a favour!
The racehorse Punxsutawney Phil is an unraced colt by Ole Kirk in the Tom Charlton stable and he was having his first trial today and came out of it a winner. He showed natural pace to go forward for Zac Lloyd and travelled deep all the way before being shaken up to go on and win by half a length.
Punxsutawney Phil is a homebred for Neil Werrett and is the first foal of Heroess, a winning Snitzel daughter of dual Group I winner Srikandi. Heroess is married to Ole Kirk and has a colt and filly to follow by the Vinery based sire and is back in foal to him again.
Anthony and Sam Freedman struck G1 gold for Godolphin this season with two time Group I winning colt Tentyris, who has now been retired, and they also prepare Exceed and Excel filly Semantics.
She was having her third trial and second this prep and produced her best effort to date when powering forward to lead for Dylan Gibbons and kept going to win by a length and three-quarters.
Semantics is from metro winning Street Cry (IRE) mare Philosophy, a daughter of Group II winner Rennaisance (Lonrho) from stakes-winner Seances (Canny Lad), a half-sister to ill-fated G1 winner Unworldly.
Additional winners were: Rocks and Diamonds (Fastnet Rock) and Lord Elrond (Shalaa (IRE).
Click here for all the trial results at Breednet with Sale Mail and at Racing NSW with video.
