We’re back !
To Australia that is.
For the first time since the sensational All Stars campaign of 2019 that netted 8 Group 1 races across the Tasman including the Ballarat Cup in Victoria, Nathan and Mark are planning a return there with Sherlock aimed at the $A150,000 Vicbred Final in September and young trotters We Can Have It All, HIgh Step and High Energy are also aimed at rich purses .
“The plan is for them to leave early in August” Nathan said.
“Sherlock is eligible for the Vicbred series ($A150,000 final,September 16) through Vincent and it is a really good stake at a good time of the season for him.He is also eligible for the Breeders Crown in and we will see how that unfolds on the trip.”
Sherlock,raced by that loyal Victorian, Jean Feiss, won the Alabar Classic (G2) at Alexandra Park and a Sires Stakes heat on his Auckland autumn campaign. He was second to Don’t Stop Dreaming in the Ace of Spades last December and also in the Sires Stakes Final the previous month after winning a Sires Stakes heat.
We Can Have it All a two year old, was bred in Australia and has shown considerable potential in a light racing campaign. She was the first by her sire Volstead to race and the stallion has been in the boom in recent months with his hot strike rate.
High Energy and High Step three and two year old full sisters by Father Patrick should have little trouble making their mark across the Tasman.There is some history here.
Their dam,High Gait, was a two year old Harness Jewels winner of 16 races in all.She also won the G1 Redwood Classic and the Breeders Crown as juvenile in Victoria. In fact in 22 starts there she only once missed the judge’s call when running ninth in her farewell race in that country.In her first 17 starts there she was either first or second, 11 of them wins,so her daughters face a challenge to emulate those feats.
The Need for Speed series is high on the agenda for High Energy with heats followed by the the $60,000 finals on October 6th.High Step will have a number of opportunities leading up to the Redwood Classic (G1) in late October. High Energy also has the Victorian Trotting Oaks on her list on October 14 worth $150,000 with the Victorian Trotting Derby also a contender on October 29.
The timing of the Vicbred series has played a role in the stable’s planning.In 2020 the series was shifted to the New Year period and while the first two editions were successful there was a fall off in popularity and industry soundings suggested a spring date would be more desirable.
The series now opens the major part of the Victorian spring carnival the Victoria Cup having been moved to October earlier with better fields and betting resulting. The revised programmes gives the team plenty of trotting options on the trip.
While the stable has not been in Australia since 2019 when the Miracle Mile and the Ladyship Mile were among the Sydney triumphs .Nathan of course has more recent G1 wins when training in Victoria with Amazing Dream and Amore Vita so he will be aiming for a return of “business as usual” in the campaign.
PIC; High Gait winner of the G1 Redwood Classic in Victoria as a two year old. Now her daughter High Step will attempt to emulate her feat..