Since his debut win for OTI at Cork back in April 2021, Aesop has been a horse held in high regard. Formerly trained by Jessica Harrington and now in the care of Phillip Stokes, all involved are very much looking forward to seeing him make his Australian debut over 1600m (BM70) at Sandown this evening alongside fellow OTI galloper, Vardani.
Given time to settle into his new surrounds, Aesop has been brought along patiently at Phillip Stokes’ Garfield property, an environment that suited him perfectly during the early stages of his preparation. Now with three trials under his belt, all of which he showed good speed in, we expect to see a forward showing.
Ahead of the run, Phil has said “I’m very excited to see him race. Obviously a mile is short of where he needs to be but he’s had a good build up to this and we should see him running on well”.
AESOP has won at his first time of asking in the OTI colours, for @Jessica_Racing and Shane Foley at Cork (IRE) tonight, proving too strong late down the outside.
— OTI Racing (@OTIRacing) April 3, 2021
With the big weight, Mirann battled on into 7th. https://t.co/kR5hSHse0r
The more favoured of our two runners in the market, Vardani, heads into this race off the back of two promising efforts, which included a four-length romp at Warrnambool in early December. The widest alley has left trainer Archie Alexander frustrated, but with luck on our side, we once again expect the grey son of Charm Spirit to be working home strongly.
We wish the connections of both Aesop and Vardani the very best of luck!
