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The online release of video footage from Seymour and Cambridge's Monday breeze ups is now accessible ahead of the Inglis Ready2Race Sale on 10th October.
At Seymour, a group of 63 2YO’s were put through their paces. The lineup included progeny by renowned sires like I Am Invincible, Zoustar, Dundeel, Deep Field, Harry Angel, Russian Revolution, Blue Point, Pierata, and Microphone. Many of them impressed with their quick times, but it was the Showtime x Damselle colt that stole the show. He recorded the fastest time, stopping the clock at an impressive 10.14 seconds.
“Standouts today were probably the Showtime, he was obviously quickest, but also the Dundeel x Lipstick Lover colt (lot 130) which ran 10.47 and I really like the Blue Point x Copy colt (lot 61), he breezed in 10.53 and I think he’ll make a good 3YO. I was happy with all the others in my draft,” Tal Nolen of Nolen Racing said.
Tal Nolen has a remarkable track record working with graduates of the Inglis Ready2Race Sale. Among his successes is the unbeaten 2YO colt Libertad (sired by Russian Revolution), who has won the Gr.3 Kindergarten Stakes and Gr.3 San Domenico. Libertad is also one of the top contenders for this Saturday's Gr.1 Golden Rose. Additionally, Nolen has made a name for himself with the impressive 3YO Verdad (sired by Justify), who recently caught everyone's attention with a maiden win.
“Libertad was a really nice horse, he wasn’t the quickest horse in his breeze, but he had a great attitude and has produced on the racetrack, Nolen said.
“The same goes for Verdad, who won at Bendigo last week, who again was not super quick in his breeze but had the right attitude and a lovely big stride.
“The quality of horse is definitely improving year on year, without a doubt, buyers can come to this sale now with a fair bit of confidence.''
Tal Nolen’s son and G1-winning jockey Luke was aboard the Showtime x Damselle colt and commented, “He’s a thorough professional, did everything right and he gave me a good feel underneath so he’s ready made, whoever purchases him is going to have some fun.”
Dean Harvey's Baystone Farm, a prominent consignor at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale, will present a draft of four horses in 2023. Among their offerings, the colt by Trapeze Artist out of Lady Marvel (lot 121) recorded the fastest time, clocking in at 10.32. Following closely behind was the colt by Deep Field out of Nakataan (lot 160), with a time of 10.45.
“We’ve got a small, select draft going to the sale this year,” Harvey said.
“The Trapeze Artist colt is a very good looking horse and looks to have a lot of talent, plus Trapeze Artist had his first Stakes winner at Flemington on the weekend (Inglis Premier gradate Griff) so he looks set for a big Spring.
“The Deep Field x Nakataan colt was bought from Inglis Easter, he’s a very well bred colt being a half brother to Political Debate.
“Obviously Deep Field goes really well in Hong Kong so he’s going to be well supported I imagine, he has a beautiful action, he’s a lovely relaxed sort of horse.''
The colts of lot 205 and lot 42 at Prima Park in Cambridge, New Zealand, ran the fastest times of the day with 10.32 and 10.36, respectively. Lot 205's colt is a crossbreed of Zoustar and Strata Lady while lot 42's colt is a mix of Harry Angel and Cambage.
“We are over the moon with how they performed today,” Kelly Van Dyk of Prima Park said.
“They have both been very impressive throughout their education and it’s just the icing on the cake to see them go out and perform the way they did.
“Both have shown they have a lot of ability and we are very proud of them.
“It was trying conditions out there today, it was a very windy day and for them to breeze up like that was great to see.”
At Cambridge, four 2YO from Cheltenham Stables participated in the breeze up, and John Malcolm was especially impressed by the I Am Invincible x Bit of Cheek colt (lot 32).
“All the horses ran really nice times, we were really happy with our draft overall,” Malcolm said.
“The I Am Invincible colt was impressive, he clocked a time of 10.68 and shows plenty of ability.''
Over 100 lots are set to breeze at Hawkesbury this Friday, 22nd September for the breeze up action. The 226-strong catalogue for the sale is headlined by 2YO from top stallions such as I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Zoustar, Extreme Choice and Written Tycoon. The catalogue also includes juveniles from many of Australia and New Zealand's leading stallions including Deep Field, Toronado, Starspangledbanner, Capitalist, So You Think, Dundeel, Pierro, Justify, Russian Revolution, The Autumn Sun, Per Incanto, Shamus Award, Savabeel, Street Boss, Lonhro, Nicconi, Brazen Beau, Harry Angel, Ocean Park, All Too Hard, Trapeze Artist, Brave Smash, Almanzor, and more.
Additionally, popular First Season Sires such as Alabama Express, Blue Point, Brutal, Calyx, Castelvecchio, Cosmic Force, D'Argento, Dubious, Exceedance, I Am Immortal, Magna Grecia, Microphone, Pierata, Strasbourg, Tassort, Unite And Conquer, Yes Yes Yes, and Zousain are represented. The Inglis Ready2Race is the only Australian 2YO sale to produce Group-winning graduates in the past four renewals, with recent graduates including Gr.1 stars such as Nettoyer, Group winners such as Libertad, Forgot You, Allibor, Gunstock, Malkovich, Lightsaber, Prix De Turn, Hong Kong stars like Super Wealthy and Wishful Thinker, and current Singapore star Golden Monkey.
All horses in the catalogue are eligible for the A$12.55m Inglis Race Series, including the A$2m Inglis Millennium, $1m Pink Bonus Series, and 5m Xtra Bonus Series. Graduates of the Ready2Race Sale have had an exciting start to the Spring, with Libertad adding another Gr.3 to his record and galloper Democracy Manifest surging into Gr.1 Epsom Handicap calculations with a big win in the Gr.3 Cameron Handicap at Newcastle last Friday.