A Sunday meeting at Bendigo in December is possibly not the most obvious place to spot a future stakes-winner or two but there was plenty to like in the three two-year-old fillies, all making their racetrack debut, that filled the places in the 1000 metre opener.
The heavily backed, Anthony Fredman-trained, Exceed And Excel filly Award Winner finished impressively after making an awkward start to defeat the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained A Beautiful Night by three-quarters of a length with the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Who Runs The World a nose back in third.
Award Winner’s defeat of A Beautiful Night denied a first win in Australia for Europe’s first season sire sensation Night Of Thunder (IRE), while the fast-finishing Who Runs The World is a $460,000 daughter of Zoustar out of the Group III winning Sebring mare Thurlow.
When the bidding stopped short of her $400,000 reserve at the 2019 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Award Winner was back on the truck heading home to her breeder, Pine Cliff's Racings, Jonathon Munz.
Pine Cliffs Racings Manager Rod Douglas said Award Winner had had a very limited preparation.
“She’s only been away from the farm once and that was last Monday and to come here today and do that was a pretty good effort,” Douglas said.
The trial last week was outstanding, and Anthony made the decision not to give her another trial. She’s a light-framed filly so we targeted this race. If they’re good they can do it and obviously she is good.
“I think Anthony said that if she won today, he would give her a freshen up and aim her at a Blue Diamond Preview. She probably won’t get through to a race like the Blue Diamond. It would take the pressure off and then give her a little breather and maybe head to Queensland in the winter.”
Munz had purchased Award Winner’s dam Circe through bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne out of the Godolphin draft at the 2017 Inglis Chairmans Sale when she was carrying the daughter of Exceed And Excel.
An unraced daughter of Medaglia d’Oro (USA), Circe is a three-quarter sister to multiple Group III winner Nostradamus and Listed winner Pohutukawa and half-sister to multiple Group II winners Chinchilla Rose and Ferocity as well as Listed winner Chiaramonte and Group III winner Leone Chiara the dam of dual Group 1 winner and top-class stallion Star Witness.
Circe has a yearling filly by Redoute’s Choice and on August 15 foaled her fourth consecutive filly, a daughter of Snitzel.
