Chicago Bear, Longvillers and Celebrity’s Beau are all recent arrivals to Australian shores and, in the coming days, each is due to race for the first time for their respective new trainers.
Celebrity’s Beau is the first of the debutants to kick off when he heads to Pakenham on Friday night for Peter Moody, with his loyal sidekick Luke Nolen in the saddle. The 4yo son of Shocking impressed with a win on his race debut at Cambridge (NZ) in September and so has been with his new trainer for a matter of weeks. Out of a Listed winning and G1 placed mare, the gelding shows a lot of upside.
With the blinkers on, Celebrity’s Beau was competitive in his first official jump out at Pakenham in late October. Moody says “He showed us what we wanted to see and was more switched on and competitive with the other horses around him. He definitely looks like he can go over further distance.” We look forward to his run Friday night!
See the full field and race details here.
Chicago Bear will start the action on Saturday in Race 1 at Flemington for trainers Natalie Young and Trent Busuttin. The 5yo gelding arrived from the UK in July and since has impressed all involved with his progression to date. Winning his first trial in good style and showing another positive piece of work in his second, the gelding is ready to hit the Australian turf.
The son of Siyouni showed good progression for Johnny Murtagh in Ireland and commences his Australian career with a great deal of upside. His lifetime career record of 10 starts for three wins and a placing is sure to be improved on. On Saturay, Chicago Bear will be ridden by Craig Williams at 54kg from barrier 15.
See all race details and the full field here.
In Sydney on Saturday, Longvillers, a 4yo French entire that joined the camp of Chris Waller only three weeks ago, will contest the $2,000,000 Five Diamonds over 1800m. Longvillers is already Group 3 placed and well experienced in racing at the highest level, contesting Group or Listed races in each of his last 4 runs.
With the Five Diamonds as a race target for some time, he worked well through his time in quarantine and has settled in well at Chris’s Sydney stable. “Saturday looks a tough contest as there is some Group One form in the race and certainly horses who deserve respect, so we will see how he shapes up against them, respecting that it is his first up run and he is likely to still improve deeper into his preparation,” said Waller.
The 4yo will be ridden by Jason Collett with 56kg from barrier 13.
The the full field and all race details here.
We are looking forward to seeing the next wave of talent hit the track in Australia for the first time. Best of luck to all connections!