When a trainer drops $1 million on a yearling, naturally they hope they’re buying the best horse they’ll ever train.
For Robbie Griffiths, his first and only seven-figure purchase at the sales might actually give him the two best horses he’ll ever train.
The G1 winning Cranbourne horseman paid $1 million for a filly by then first-crop stallion Ole Kirk at last year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast.
That unraced filly’s name is Superior Dame and while she’ll sit out the spring she’s shown brilliant talent at the trials with wins at all four of her public appearances.
So impressed were the team from Vinery Stud with Griffiths’ faith in their stallion, Ole Kirk, that they sent him another yearling by the boom young sire.
The now 3YO is Legacy Bound, the undefeated gelding who will commence a spring campaign aimed at the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes when he tackles the Listed Poseidon Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.
“This is the first horse I’ve had for Vinery,” Griffiths said. “They thanked me for the support of the stallion when I bought the filly and said they’d send me another one. They loved him as a yearling but he was withdrawn from the sales so they retained him to race. They thought we’d put a lot of faith in Ole Kirk by putting up our hand and spending the money that we did so this was our reward. At the time, he was just a broken-in horse so nobody knew what he had under the hood, so luckily for both of us he’s a nice horse.”
Legacy Bound earned high praise from jockey Mark Zahra after his three-length romp in the G3 Breeders Stakes in Adelaide in May, with the champion jockey likening the youngster to Everest-placegetter Growing Empire.
Griffiths admits it’s hard not to get carried away with an assessment like that, although he’s doing his best to temper his enthusiasm.
The gelding turned heads when third in a recent Caulfield jump out and Griffiths said his gallop at Cranbourne on Monday morning was even more impressive.
The Danehill Stakes will be Legacy Bound’s second-up run en route to the Coolmore, with connections deciding to keep the horse to sprinting races in his second campaign.
Legacy Bound is rated $17 in Bet365’s Coolmore Stud Stakes market.
“I probably want to see him do it again before we jump up and down and get too excited,” he said. “We’re hoping he’s taken another step going into this campaign. He doesn’t like it wet so getting a guide on him in his gallops at this time of year can be a bit tricky. This morning (Monday) was probably the driest track he’s galloped on for a while and he looked very good and his leg speed was terrific when we let him down a little bit.”
“Looking at him, he’s a taller version of what he was as a two-year-old but he hasn’t fully bodied up yet so whatever happens this spring, I think he’s going to be better again in the autumn. We’ll get a good guide on Saturday against some ‘real deal’ horses. We’re going to be a little bit cautious because naturally we want him to peak for the Coolmore so, win or lose, he’s got plenty of room to improve, and I’ve always been cautious of horses having their first run down the straight so, once he sees it, I think he’ll be a better horse in the Danehill and hopefully and even better horse in the Coolmore.”
