3 minute read
A snapshot of the action from Saturday’s The Marks Stakes program at Rosehill.
Nature Strip tunes-up for Randwick return
Champion sprinter Nature Strip added his star power to Saturday's Rosehill meeting with a solo exhibition gallop after the first race.
With regular jockey James McDonald in the saddle, Nature Strip looked bright and relaxed, striding out nicely over 1000m in a time of 1:04.81, his final 600m in 35.75s.
Trainer Chris Waller was pleased with the horse's hitout and said it would top him off for next Saturday's The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick, the eight-year-old's first outing since his Kings' Stand Stakes victory at Royal Ascot in June.
"He's exactly where we need him to be and that was what James (McDonald) said after his work," Waller said.
"He said it was a lovely piece of work, he was so efficient with his action and it was good to get him on a nice track today and get a nice piece of work into him."
Waller often uses race day gallops to prepare his horses and says it is a good way to settle the nerves, particularly before a first-up run.
"It's basically ticking every box. You can get horses to the races and they can turn a hair and get a bit upset, especially when they're fresh, and that can lead to other things like problems in the barriers and using extra early race pressure that you don't really need," Waller said.
"It will help him relax, help him switch off and turn up next Saturday at Randwick ready to go."
The Shorts is shaping as a mini Everest with Eduardo, Mazu, Lost And Running, Classique Legend and Masked Crusader all scheduled to tackle the race.
Herman Hesse scores a novel win
Leading trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace continue to have success switching their horses from Melbourne to Sydney, particularly stayers.
Having produced Impulsar and Cadre Du Noir to win over 2400m at Randwick last month, the dynamic training duo made it a trifecta of staying raids when Herman Hesse brought his best form to Rosehill on Saturday.
Finding a trailing position third on the fence, Herman Hesse got into a lovely rhythm for Jason Collett and quickly put paid to stablemate Impulsar at the top of the straight, surging clear to score by 2-1/2 lengths over Oz Legend with Saracen Knight another half-length away third.
Johann Gerard-Dubord, Sydney stable foreman for Maher and Eustace, said the son of Frankel appreciated getting back on a firmer surface and he believed the Listed Christmas Cup placegetter could work his way back into stakes company.
"I think he can, now he's a fit horse and at those type of trips," Gerard-Dubord said.
"His run in the Christmas Cup was very good. He can just do a little bit wrong at times, he can get a bit keen, so we have to manage him early in the race.
"If he can get the first part of the race right, usually he can finish off. He's a talented horse."
Sargent in the Pink with blue-blooded mare
Standing adjacent to the halfway point of the Rosehill straight, John Sargent was pleased to see beautifully bred mare Pink Ivory motoring home for what he thought was an eye-catching third in Saturday's Download The TAB App Handicap (1800m).
Happily for the trainer, the angle proved misleading and Pink Ivory actually landed the cash by a head.
"I was halfway up the straight and I thought she had run third, so I was delighted when I heard the commentator yell out that she'd won," Sargent said.
"We will probably just try to get through the grades at the moment and then look for some black type for her because she is a well-bred mare.
"She might end up in Melbourne in the Matriarch (Stakes), we will just see. It is a while away yet."
Bred and owned by businessman Gerry Harvey, Pink Ivory is a daughter of multiple Group 1 winner Lotteria and has now won three of her eight starts.
Fifth to Fangirl in the Vinery Stud Stakes during the autumn, she was put away after finishing midfield in the ATC Australian Oaks and Sargent said she had blossomed as a mare.
"Mentally and physically she has matured and she will only get better with time," he said.
Baker mare lands heart-stopping stakes win
Relief was the overwhelming emotion for trainer Bjorn Baker as his rising star Shades Of Rose clung on to record the narrowest of victories in her first test at stakes level.
The mare made the running in Saturday's Sheraco Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill and looked to have the race in her keeping before Electric Girl launched from the pack and lunged late, missing by a nose.
Baker said he thought Shades Of Rose ($2.45 fav) had held on but wasn't certain enough to celebrate.
"I thought she had just, but I wasn't sure," Baker said.
"I was very nervous. It's a hard race and I was really anxious about today and you never take it for granted."
Shades Of Rose has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks, winning six of her eight starts leading into Saturday's Group 2 race and now her past four in succession.
Baker was mindful of the vast leap he was asking her to make into black-type company and said he would let the dust settle before deciding his next move.
"I knew it was a big jump up. You're jumping up against proper Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 mares," he said.
"She's done a remarkable job, the big question is where from here."
Co-trainer Michael Hawkes was disappointed not to get the win with Electric Girl ($31) but was proud of her effort.
"To get beat by the barest of margins is hard to swallow, but she is racing true and I can't fault her," Hawkes said.
Quote of the day: "She only won by a nose. Pity it's not as big as my nose, she would have won comfortably." – Trainer Bjorn Baker after Shades Of Rose just lasted to win the Sheraco Stakes.
