Another Ocean Park Star on the Rise

Media Release - Saturday June 6

The Group I Epsom Handicap (1600m) and the A$7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) figure among the spring options for Opacity, a three-year-old son of Ocean Park who has continued building on a promising start to his racing career with another Randwick win.

Opacity wins at Randwick - image Steve Hart

The John O'Shea-trained gelding got to the right part of the track out wide in Saturday's TAB Handicap (1600m) and burst through between runners under Hugh Bowman to register his fifth win from seven starts in narrow but impressive fashion.

It was a second straight Randwick win for the three-year-old gelding who was initially to be aimed at the Queensland Guineas before that race was scrapped this year in a revised Brisbane carnival because of the coronavirus.

"He had been set for the Queensland Guineas (Gr.2, 1600m) from the day he went to the paddock after he won at Canterbury over the 1900m (in February)," O'Shea said.

"Today was meant to be that day, it's just not to be. But all the same he's had a good seasoning campaign. He continues to put ones next to his name and I think Hugh thinks quite highly of him. He's won on him his last two goes.

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"So when he gets down in the weights, and if he got into something like an Epsom on 50kg or 51kg I think he'd have plenty to offer."

O'Shea indicated the lucrative Golden Eagle for four-year-olds is a good option to have in the spring, and Opacity could continue his current campaign next week in a bid to bolster his prospects for later in the year.

"We've actually got him in next Saturday just for the opportunity to try and get his rating up a little bit more," O'Shea said.

The path plotted by the Randwick horseman mirrors that of last year’s Epsom and Golden Eagle winner Kolding, also a son of Waikato Stud stallion Ocean Park.

Opacity, the $4.20 favourite, carried 59kg to a half-neck victory over Word For Word with Orcein 1-1/2 lengths away third, giving Bowman a winning double having also won on Lando Bay.

The talented chestnut sports the colours of Champion Thoroughbreds, with principal Jason Abrahams having purchased Opacity in conjunction with O’Shea for $70,000 from the Landsdowne Park draft during Book 1 at the Karaka Yearling Sales in 2018.

“He really is an interesting horse as he has a great nature and is trouble free,” Abrahams said of the gelding who has now taken his record to five wins and a second placing from seven starts.

“He wouldn’t know what a vet looks like as he is just so, touch wood, sound.”

Opacity was not the only son of Ocean Park to represent O’Shea and Abrahams on Saturday, with five-year-old Southern Lad finishing a game runner-up to Classique Legend in the Listed Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m).

Ocean Park

Abrahams is a fan of the New Zealand-bred product having sourced horses from the annual Karaka sales over a number of years including the multiple stakes winner Kuro who was also Group One placed in the 2015 Gr.1 The Galaxy (1100m).

“A lot of the owners in Opacity are kiwis and we love coming over to New Zealand at sales time,” he said.

“We are competitive in the market there and we picked this guy up for NZ$70,000 which made him a straight forward horse to buy as he stood out physically and it wasn’t hard to get a group together to buy into him at that price.

“Each year when you look at the results around Australia you see so many Kiwi-breds figuring heavily.

“The New Zealand farms bring their best horses to the sales so you are spoiled for choice.

“We bring a group over every year and the hospitality is amazing so when you get people in that environment, it is a pleasure to look at the horses and to work from there.” – AAP & NZ Racing Desk

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Race Result - Tab (Bm78) 1600m

Randwick Track: Soft(7) Time: 1:40.02
1
Opacity
- 3g Ocean Park (NZ) x Twilight Granita (NZ) (Iffraaj (GB))
Tnr: J A O'Shea Rdr: J Bowman 59
2
0.2
Word For Word
- 4m So You Think (NZ) x Wordplay (AUS) (Fastnet Rock (AUS))
Tnr: C J Waller Rdr: J B Mc Donald 55.5
3
1.7
Orcein
- 4g Snitzel (AUS) x Zapurple (NZ) (Zabeel (NZ))
Tnr: C J Waller Rdr: B Avdulla 55.5
4
3.7
Greek Hero
- 4g Champs Elysees (GB) x Za Za Zoom (IRE) (Le Vie Dei Colori (GB))
Tnr: R & M Freedman Rdr: K Mc Evoy 56.5
5
4.5
Picaro
- 4g Pierro (AUS) x Sookie (AUS) (Casino Prince (AUS))
Tnr: G Portelli Rdr: Tim Clark 56.5
6
5.0
Come Along
- 4g Power (GB) x Game Duchess (AUS) (Montjeu (IRE))
Tnr: J G Sargent Rdr: A Hyeronimus 57.5
7
9.3
Zaunkonig
- 7g Northern Meteor (AUS) x Zaiyda (NZ) (Zabeel (NZ))
Tnr: R & M Freedman Rdr: Jean Van Overmeire 56.5
8
9.4
Dylan's Romance
- 7g Dylan Thomas (IRE) x Racing Romance (AUS) (Hussonet (USA))
Tnr: M C Conners Rdr: R Dolan 59
9
9.7
Itz Lily
- 4m Snitzel (AUS) x Empress Lily (AUS) (Zabeel (NZ))
Tnr: K A Lees Rdr: Rachel King 57
10
12.7
Regal Stage
- 5g Redoute's Choice (AUS) x Estelle Collection (NZ) (Stravinsky (USA))
Tnr: G Waterhouse & A Bott Rdr: Ms L Day 53.5
11
12.8
Pursuit Of Honour
- 7g Street Cry (IRE) x Light Chance (AUS) (Carnegie (IRE))
Tnr: G K White Rdr: A Adkins 58.5
12
13.8
Pelethronius
- 7g Artie Schiller (USA) x Enrich (USA) (Dynaformer (USA))
Tnr: David Pfieffer Rdr: Chris C Williams 57
13
15.0
Guise
- 4m So You Think (NZ) x Maie Casey (GB) (Singspiel (IRE))
Tnr: C J Waller Rdr: Tommy Berry 58.5
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