It’s been pretty ordinary fare around south-east Queensland of late, but as always, the trials are where the early clues start to appear.
With the carnival edging closer and a few horses either building towards bigger Brisbane targets or slipping quietly towards Sydney features, Tuesday’s Doomben session threw up a handful worth filing away.
Here’s what caught my eye.
Trial 1 – Abounding
Class tends to reveal itself pretty quickly in these settings, and Abounding wasted no time reminding us who she is.
The Rich Enuff mare sat comfortably outside the leader before being asked to stretch approaching the corner. Once she did, it was over in a matter of strides. She let down sharply and put the trial to bed without ever looking like she’d reached the bottom of the tank.
This is a Group 1 placegetter and a Group 2 winner of the Tristarc last prep, with more than $2.7 million already in the bank. On this evidence, she looks set to return in similar form off the break and should be followed closely wherever she reappears.
Trial 8 – The Aviator
This was a classic “forget the line, watch the run” trial.
Things didn’t pan out for The Aviator, who travelled well on the fence but had his momentum checked when an inside run disappeared at the wrong moment. From there, he went to the line under a hold with more to give.
His debut run was better than it looked as well. He was jagged back to last in a race where nothing made ground, which makes that effort far more forgivable than the form suggests.
Put him in the right race with even luck and he’s more than capable of winning next time we see him.
Trial 13 – 2YO 840m – Pembrey
This filly looks a ready-made two-year-old.
Pembrey jumped brilliantly, rolled to the front without pressure and showed a smooth, efficient action throughout. She barely looked asked to extend and still put nearly four lengths on them, ears pricked the whole way down the straight.
She did everything right and did it easily. On what we saw here, she measures up on debut and looks the type Gollan can place to advantage early.
Trial 14 – 2YO 840m – Night Market
Different heat, same story.
Another Gollan youngster, Night Market jumped two lengths in front and immediately looked to be in a different race to her rivals. She travelled strongly, controlled the trial and never put a foot wrong.
There was nothing fancy about it, which is often the biggest tick with young horses. She looks ready to go, does everything correctly and profiles as another who won’t take long to win a race.
