Five heats for juveniles at Randwick on Thursday morning with the Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner O’Ole given a tick over trial in preparation for a tilt at the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes and we also had a look at the most expensive colt by Dundeel ever sold.
She appeared in the slowest of the three heats for two year-olds over 1050m and finished third to unraced Capitalist filly Lady Pankhurst, who was having her third trial and second this prep for the John Sargent stable. Lady Pankhurst did everything right and looks ready for a race and runs in the colours of her breeder Go Bloodstock.
Recorded as a $75,000 Magic Millions purchase, Lady Pankhurst is a half-sister to two winners from Group II winner Thunder Lady, who was also trained by John Sargent and was second in the Group I VRC Oaks, so she has a bit of depth and quality through her female family. Segenhoe Stud will offer the current yearling from Thunder Lady, a filly by Russian Revolution, at Inglis Premier as Lot 529.
John Sargent also had the winner of this heat with Wootton Lass shading highly rated colt West of Swindon in a Wootton Bassett (GB) quinella. West of Swindon was having his first trial since finishing second in the $1million ATC Golden Gift and unraced Wootton Lass was having her second trial this prep and went a little keenly early but settled into her work for Nash Rawiller and was good to the line.
A $375,000 Magic Millions purchase for Laguna Partnership/John Sargent from Yarraman Park, Wootton Lass is the first foal of well related Fastnet Rock mare The Natural a winning sibling to dual Group I winner Fiveandahalfstar and to the dam of this season’s Group I ATC Spring Champion Stakes winner El Castello.
The Bjorn Baker trained Street Boss (USA) filly Strada Varenna was having her third trial and second this prep, with this her best to date. She was very professional and won by over a length with a couple of good looking Dundeel colts worth keeping an eye on in fourth and fifth Master of the Air and Columbus.
A cheap purchase for her pedigree given she made just $100,000 for Emirates Park when bought by Newgate Bloodstock at Magic Millions, Strada Varenna is a half-sister to four winners from Group II winner Varenna Miss, a Group II winning half-sister by Redoute’s Choice to Group I winners Criterion and Comin’ Through.
$1.5million Dundeel colt Columbus has been enrusted to the care of Les Bridge.
Columbus is super interesting! Very expensive $1.5million Inglis Easter purchase for Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock / Alpha Syndicate that runs for a syndicate that includes his breeders Arrowfied Stud and Jonathan Munz with additional partners. He was the most expensive yearling by Dundeel sold in 2024 and is his most expensive colt ever.
He is the third foal of blueblood Fastnet Rock mare Tides, a metro winning sister to triple Group I winner Shoals and stakes-winner Groundswell from the famed Shantha’s Choice female family of champion sire Redoute’s Choice. The two previous foals from Tides are also by Dundeel, although Columbus appears to be the best of them on type as reflected in his yearling price.
The first of them is a slow gelding called O’Caldino that remains a maiden after nine starts and the second is an unraced three year-old filly called Lunar Tide, so the pressure is on Columbus to deliver with Les Bridge tasked with finding out what he has to offer and hopefully something soon as Arrowfield have the current yearling from Tides, a filly by Pinatubo (IRE) entered for Inglis Easter as Lot 224.
Additional heat winners over 740m were: Sea Admiral (Hanseatic) and Nullarbor Jane (Too Darn Hot (GB).
Click here for all the trial results at Breednet with Sale Mail and at Racing NSW with video.
