Highview stallion Divine Prophet was credited with his fifth individual stakes winner when Soothsayer stormed home to capture the A$200,000 Listed Barrier Reef Pools Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) at Ipswich on Saturday.
The black-type triumph capped a remarkable comeback to racing for Soothsayer, who placed in the Gr.3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) and Gr.3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m) as a three-year-old back in 2023 but then spent almost three years on the sidelines with a severe tendon injury.
The six-year-old resumed with a second at Eagle Farm in April and a fourth at the Gold Coast in May, and now he has put together back-to-back wins, including a stunning performance at stakes level on Saturday.
Ridden by Daniel Moor, Soothsayer went back from his wide gate before launching an explosive finish down the Ipswich straight. He reeled in La Roja and Esjay in the final few strides and was just under half a length in front of them at the finish line.
Stable representative Lee Freedman suggested Soothsayer could even be a candidate for the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) in Sydney in the spring.
“I’m a bit flabbergasted to be honest, because he’s gone from a Benchmark 85 to a Listed race,” he said. “He may have come back this prep better than ever, especially as the ground was a bit of a worry.
“We wanted to try to qualify him for The Big Dance (1600m), but that might go out of the window because he’ll probably have too much weight. I always thought he’d be a good horse for a race like the Epsom, so that may be the race you see him in.”
Moor admitted to some mid-race nerves.
“Lee Freedman and I go back a long way, I’ve copped a few sprays from him, and at the 600m mark I thought I might be copping another one from him,” he said. “All our plans went out the window because of the pace and the shape of the race.
“So I just focused on getting him nice and relaxed, which he did. He’s flying this horse, and what an achievement by the team to get him back in such good order. It’s a great team effort and I’m delighted to be on him.
“It was actually quite a soft win on the line. He got to them and went past them pretty easily, so it was pretty soft.”
Bought by Dream Thoroughbreds and Lee Freedman Racing for just A$20,000 from the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, Soothsayer has now had 19 starts for seven wins, four placings and A$583,875 in stakes.
Divine Prophet, who will stand at Highview for a $5,000 service fee in the upcoming season, is the sire of 185 winners from 312 runners.
Soothsayer has joined a list of Divine Prophet’s stakes winners that is headed by the Australian Group Two winners See You In Heaven, Generosity and Promitto, along with fellow Listed winner Fortunate Kiss.
Divine Prophet is a full brother to elite New Zealand stallion Proisir and began his stud career at Aquis Farm in Queensland before relocating across the Tasman to join the Highview stallion roster in 2023. His oldest New Zealand progeny will be two-year-olds in the 2026-27 season. – NZ Racing Desk.
