News

Carnival stars emerge as focus moves interstate

23rd Apr 2022

As the Brisbane and Adelaide carnivals heated up today, Inglis graduates again stepped up to assert their authority with the promise of more feature-race success in weeks and months ahead.

In Brisbane, 3YOs Rubiquitous (Rubick) and Canadian Dancer (Vancouver) won key G1 lead-ups in the Listed Mick Dittman Plate and Listed Princess Stakes respectively while at Morphettville, Inglis Digital pin-up girl Bella Vella (Commands) returned with a strong front-running victory in the G3 Irwin Stakes.

For the Phoenix Thoroughbred-bred Canadian Dancer, today’s result was of added value being her first Stakes success, something co-trainer Steve O’Dea was well aware of leading into the event.

“There’s only the two opportunities for 3YO fillies in Queensland at the mile or less to get black type this carnival so this is definitely a race we always target with fillies we have a bit of an opinion of,’’ O’Dea, who with co-trainer Matthew Hoysted teamed up with Jamie Walter of Proven Thoroughbreds to purchase the filly for $50,000 at the Premier Yearling Sale out of the Vinery Stud draft, said.

“It’s so important to get these horses to Stakes level.

“It’s huge for the owners. Jamie [Walter] is a huge supporter of the stable and buys us a lot of quality horses so it was really good to repay his faith in us.’’

Canadian Dancer - now a winner of three of her six starts with three minor placings - will now progress to the Gold Coast Bracelet in a fortnight before a potential G1 Queensland Oaks attempt deeper into the Queensland carnival.

Later on the Doomben program Rubiquitous had to win twice – on the track and in the stewards’ room – defying a protest to claim a first Stakes success at his first attempt.

Rubiquitous was posted a $46 chance early in the week by bookmakers but trainer Chris Anderson knew his 3YO was a genuine winning chance all along.

“I said to the owners before the race I thought I’d never bought a better 50-1 pop to the races in my life, his trial was outstanding and he got the result,’’ a jubilant Anderson said.

“The horse was just so tenacious late, he just keeps sticking on.

“I thought we were gone a number of times in the run but he just kept sticking on. He’s just a beautiful big, strong bugger.’’

Anderson teamed up with Steve Morley to purchase Rubiquitous for just $35,000 at the Classic Yearling Sale, where he was offered by Amarina Farm.

Bred by David Raphael’s Stallion Racing Australia, Rubiquitous has now won almost $200,000 in prizemoney with the promise of much more success to come.

And in Adelaide, tenacious mare Bella Vella (pictured) returned from 13 months off racing to score an all-the-way win in the G3 Irwin Stakes.

The Will Clarken-trained Bella Vella is one of the best stories in racing.

Since being sold to John Kelton – with Clarken, his racing manager Lachie Weekley and David Jolly as advisers – for $22,500 in the 2019 Inglis Digital April Online Sale, Bella Vella has won eight races including the G1 Robert Sangster Stakes and earned almost $900,000.

She will progress on through the Adelaide carnival toward races like the Sangster again and the G1 Goodwood Hcp.

The latest Inglis Digital Online Sale – the April (Late) auction – is now open for bidding at inglisdigital.com.

The catalogue of 425 lots features an 85-strong unreserved Arrowfield Stud broodmare reduction, an 11-horse Hudson Conway reduction and a strong group of nine broodmares offered by Coolmore Stud who are in foal to the likes of So You Think and Merchant Navy.

The final countdown of bidding begins from midday Wednesday.

To view the catalogue or to participate in the sale, CLICK HERE.

Attention will then switch to Riverside for a week of outstanding action featuring the HTBA May Yearling Sale (May 1), the Australian Weanling Sale (May 4 and 5), the Chairman’s Sale (May 6) and the Australian Broodmare Sale (May 8).

Inspections begin at Riverside from Wednesday.

To view the catalogues, CLICK HERE.