The
opening race at Caulfield on Saturday was won in good style by lightly raced
Sepoy filly Watchmespin, a $150,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Mill Park
draft with Group I aspirations.
The Danny O'Brien trained filly broke her maiden at Seymour at her second start
and had no trouble bringing that good form into tougher Saturday company to
score a good win.
A drifter in the betting she settled back in the seven horse field and surged
home to win the 1400 metre contest by three-quarters of a length.
"She's a beautiful style of filly and we've always had a really big opinion of
her," O'Brien said.
"We were just waiting until she turned three and we're really looking forward
to getting her out over probably a mile and further."
Watchmespin will be entered in all the big fillies Black type races over the
spring.
"On all of the stuff we see at home she'll step out to 2000 metres and possibly
a mile and a half when she gets a bit more seasoned," O'Brien said.
Raised at Mill Park, Watchmespin is a half-sister to Group III placed Dream
First and is the third winner from three foals to race from Tobouggie Woogie, a
half-sister to Group II winner Majestic Music from the family of Group I MRC
Thousand Guineas winner Serious Speed.
She is the last foal of Tobouggie Woogie, who died in 2014.
Later in the program Written Tycoon filly Booker lost no admirers with her
brave second to star colt Merchant Navy in the Group III MRC HDF McNeil Stakes
at her first run of the spring.
Prepared by Matt Ellerton and Simon Zahra, Booker won on debut in May and was
second in the Group III SAJC National Stakes before spelling.
She looked all over a winner in the McNeil before being caught late by the
colt, so appears to have returned in exceptional order.
A $230,000 Inglis Premier purchase from the Mill Park draft, Booker is the
first winner for Noondie, a three-quarter sister by Flying Spurt to
stakes-winner Tranquility from stakes-winner Creatrix.
Noondie has a yearling colt by Written Tycoon and has already foaled this
spring producing a colt by Starspangledbanner.