One of our newest European imports is Irish bred Dark Pearl who has his first start in Australia at Moonee Valley this evening over 1600m. Having moved from the care of Ed Walker in England to Chris Waller, he has progressed nicely and is looking to kick start his Australian career in Melbourne. Off the back of two trials, Chris is pleased with his acclimatisation to our way of training and plans to step him up to his preferred distance as the horse advances in his fitness.
Serenade the Stars also heads to Flemington for his first start this preparation. He jumps in the BM90 over the mile, again, too short a distance for this horse but the race looks to be the perfect stepping stone toward further races. Trainer Peter Gelagotis has stated the horse hasn’t missed a beat in his lead-up work and looks an absolute picture.
Mantastic also takes his place at Flemington, being another first-time starter for OTI this campaign. Having moved to the Chris Waller Racing Melbourne base, he impressed in his recent trial under jockey Michael Walker – who also takes to the irons in this race. A horse that’s as tough as they come, and consistently running in the money, we hope to see Mantastic settle well and work home strongly to the line.
Saturday’s racing also sees OTI head to Sydney with both Tom Melbourne and Aloisia taking on Winx in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick. A strong field with no clear leaders in running, the pace looks to be dictated by Glyn Schofield and Tom, with Aloisia and Tim Clark looking to find a suitable position to allow them to make ground and close strongly in the final 400m. Running against racing royalty in that of Winx, sees the field vying for second place, but a solid finish on all fronts is what we can hope for. Both horses are in fine form with Tom coming off the back of a win in the Listed Carrington Stakes and Aloisia running second last start in the Group 2 Villiers.
Rounding out the day is Wee Gilly backing up this week eight days since her last start. She steps out in the BM78 over 2200m at Bendigo for Archie Alexander. A challenging run at Moonee Valley last start indicated that she is a horse that prefers the wider, longer straight tracks. The race looks well suited to her needs as she can build her momentum and work home to the line.
Sunday sees lone runner Roc de Khaper head to Werribee for Busuttin Racing. He is looking to break his maiden status over 1400m. A recent second place trial puts him in good stead to show his ability this start, jockey Linda Meech takes the ride and they jump from barrier nine of fourteen.
Best of luck to all of our runners and their connections and happy racing!