By Ray Hickson
There won’t be any Tempteds, Marhoonas or Nepotisms among the opposition when we next see Brad Widdup’s promising filly Savvy Hallie back the races.
However, the two-year-old will likely be a short priced favourite to get the maiden out of the way and a fitness edge for when she returns to stakes company in the coming weeks and months.
It was a cruisy trial win at Tuesday’s Rosehill session for Savvy Hallie – her time was the slowest of all the 900m heats – as she led all the way and did it as she liked.
She last raced in the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes in April and split Tempted and subsequent Champagne Stakes runner-up Within The Law so her quality isn’t in question and this was an ideal start point.
Widdup’s Farnan colt Nashville Jack has now won two trials as he nears a return and you’d imagine he’ll also have a maiden at his mercy coming up.
He’s run almost six lengths faster than his stablemate and was kept under a nice hold in winning by about a long neck or so as the runner-up Panova was pushed out hands and heels.
In his two starts to date he’s run fourth in the Group 2 Silver Slipper and fifth in the Group 3 Black Opal and wasn’t beaten far in either.
A couple of lengths behind him was West Of Swindon, now with Ciaron Maher, and you’d give him a pass mark in his first hitout for the new stable.
Also on the soon to be three-year-olds, Banknote Hustler was excellent in one of the faster trials over the 900m as he went down narrowly behind Vivian’s Express.
He contested the Lonhro Plate and the Todman Stakes earlier this year and returned to the Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr yard as a gelding which looks to have been a good move.
Nashville Jack wins a Rosehill trial on July 15
Outer Banks has also been gelded since he failed at his only start as a $4 chance in a strong two-year-old race won by Aerodrome in mid-April. He was particularly handy running into second place behind Clear Blue Day, an unraced colt from the Richard & Will yard who was having his first trial.
One more two-year-old to impress was Stormland, a debut winner who was then thrown into the Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes at start two, who cruised home into second in another fast run heat.
Chris Waller rolled out a few of his higher profile imports for their first trials and the standout of them was US Group 1 winner Moira whose local debut was in the Doncaster Mile.
She sat handy in her 900m trial and worked home in good fashion behind consistent mare Art Volant and it’ll be interesting to see what level she can reach in the spring, though she’d likely trial again.
Another Yulong owned mare Anisette finished last in her trial but she worked through the line quite well in her first hitout since the Doncaster. Like to see her again too.
Last year’s Group 1 Metropolitan winner Land Legend also poked around in his trial behind the speedy Passeggiata who led all the way in typically fast time.
Same Passeggiata, different trainers as she’s now with Richard and Will Freedman.
The horse to follow out of that trial is undoubtedly Pretty Powerful who scooted home just behind the placegetters. It was a tickover for him, having resumed with a luckless performance at Randwick a month ago.
Bjorn Baker rolled out Perfumist, Bonita Queen and Point And Shoot among his trailers with the first of those clearly the standout.