One to Watch – Randwick

Tara Madgwick - Wednesday February 6
The familiar grey and red diagonal stripe colours of well known Sydney owner Alan Bell have been carried by some outstanding horses and this three year-old debut winner at Randwick on Wednesday may well end up adding his name to the list.

Trope as a yearling

Trope as a yearling

Prepared by Team Hawkes, three year-old More Than Ready (USA) colt Trope has been given plenty of time to mature, but with three recent barrier trials in January was well and truly primed for race day.

Drawn wide in the field of 11, Tommy Berry was happy to let Trope dawdle from the gates and settle last in the 1100 metre maiden, but when angled into the clear at the top of the straight and asked to go forward we saw a very different horse.

Trope grabbed the bit and set sail for home, surging past everything until only Snitzel filly Got Your Six remained in his sights. She fought the brave fight before being headed on the line to go down by a head.

"It’s a credit to Alan (Bell) and our team as he’s taken a lot of time to come to hand,” said Michael Hawkes.

"To be fair he still doesn’t really know what he’s doing.

"Tommy probably got a bit further back than we thought, but we tell them to ride them where they are comfortable and once he got him balanced up he really attacked the line.

Personify at Kulani Park before her sale in 2008

Personify at Kulani Park before her sale in 2008

"Hopefully we have another nice horse on the rise, but we’ll just take it race by race.”

A $500,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Alan Bell from the Cressfield draft, Trope is a half-brother to stakes-placed Selectify and Laser Flash being the fifth winner from five foals to race from stakes-winning Galileo (IRE) mare Personify.

A half-sister to Group I winner Laisserfaire, Group III winner A Time for Julia and stakes-winners Time Thief and Foreplay, Personify is from blue hen Procrastinate and was bought for $2million at the 2008 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale by Keiran Moore Bloodstock on behalf of Cressfield.

Cressfield will offer the current yearling from Personify, a filly by Fastnet Rock, at Inglis Easter as Lot 177.


Advertisment
More Reading...
Pedigree Watch – Why Derby Winners Matter – Even in Australia
Earlier this week I read a great article in the TDN where MV Magnier was interviewed and the title was ‘Without Classic Stallions, How Can You Breed the Next Classic Winner?’ and it stuck in my mind after the stakes racing finished in Australia on Saturday and if you read this story you will soon see why.
Daily Debutants
A colts and geldings maiden at Scone on Tuesday has been chosen as the starting point for the three year-old half-brother to one of the most charismatic sprinters of recent times in renowned bad boy Chautauqua, so all eyes will be on this youngster just to be sure he gets out of the gates.
Savaglee Likely to Spell
Gun three-year-old Savaglee will likely head to the spelling paddock following his heroic runner-up performance behind fellow Kiwi-bred Feroce in Saturday’s Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington.
Juvenile Trial Watch– Warwick Farm
Just three heats for juveniles at Warwick Farm on Monday morning and the winners are all unraced with two of them by first season sires Hanseatic and Time to Reign and a third from the bargain basement of I Am Invincible.
$500,000 I Am Invincible Filly Stars at Inglis Premier Finale
The 2025 edition of the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale continued to defy the pre-sale apprehension amongst participants, with the results from Day 2 of the sale showing further gains on the promising start to the sale on Sunday. 
More Than Ready Mare Wins Grade 1 First Lady Stakes
Following the win of his 2yo son Global Quest in the Breeders’ Plate at Randwick on Saturday, the ageless More Than Ready (USA) struck at the highest level in the United States when the Chad Brown-trained Uni (GB) claimed the $400,000 First Lady Stakes on the turf at Keeneland in course record time.
Global Quest Makes it Stakes Winner 197 for More Than Ready (USA) in the Breeders' Plate
Bottled up between runners, James McDonald was sweating on a run race favourite Global Quest and when it appeared the son of More Than Ready (USA) let down impressively to capture Saturday’s Group III Breeders’ Plate (1000m) at Randwick.
Wynne and Pivotal Ten hoping to take winning form into NZB Kiwi
Dual licence holder Samantha Wynne had a day to remember in the saddle at Wingatui on Saturday, and she is hoping she can take that winning momentum north to Ellerslie on Saturday where she will line-up Pivotal Ten in the inaugural $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m).
196th SW for More Than Ready
Selflessly made a quantum leap from maiden company to become More Than Ready's 196th stakes winner in New York on Sunday.
Almanzor Filly Gets Late Call Up into $3.5million The Kiwi
Just days out from the inaugural running of the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), slot holders Kerri Spence Bloodstock and Clotworthy Racing have been forced to find another contender following the withdrawal of Dealt With.