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Classic grad Veight with G1 aims following Australia Stakes win

27th Jan 2024

Inglis Classic graduate Veight (Grunt) was hailed by his trainer as a “bloody exciting” colt after stepping up to weight-for-age and scoring a courageous win in today’s G2 Australia Stakes over 1200m at Moonee Valley.

Resuming from a spell that followed his tough Caulfield Guineas second and a fighting fifth in the Coolmore Stud Stakes - both at Group 1 against his own age - the 3YO took on older horses and stamped himself a likely star of the autumn with a determined neck triumph.

Veight was bred by Yulong Stud from the first crop of his sire Grunt, and sold from the Sledmere Stud draft at the 2022 Classic Yearling Sale for $220,000 to McEvoy Mitchell Racing and Belmont Bloodstock.

From just eight starts he’s now won four races - three at Group level - and taken his earnings to $1,215,000.

Veight came from midfield and three-lengths off the tearaway leader Recommendation entering Moonee Valley’s short home straight, reeling in the four-year-old near the line while also staving off the fast finishing runner-up.

Little wonder co-trainer Calvin McEvoy was ebullient over the colt’s autumn prospects, which could range from G1 targets including Flemington’s Newmarket Handicap over 1200m, to Caulfield’s 1400m highlights in the Orr and Futurity Stakes, and up to the 1600m of the VRC Australian Guineas.

“Gee, that was bloody exciting. He’s a very nice colt,” McEvoy said.

“He had to chase there but he really knuckled down to the job, which is what you want to see these colts do. He’s proved himself against the older horses now. Lets hope he can do it again next start.

“The plan is going to be to go to the Orr, the Futurity, and keep the door open for the Australian Guineas. But he’s pretty explosive at these 1200m and 1400m trips. It’s very exciting.”

McEvoy hinted at a leaning towards deploying Veight as a sprinter, noting his Coolmore Stud Stakes run was full of merit as it had involved an arduous drop from 1600m to 1200m in three weeks.

“When we targeted the Coolmore it was off the back of a Caulfield Guineas preparation. It wasn’t ideal,” he said. “We did as good as we could to freshen him up, and he ran gallantly, but if we decide to train him that way, there’s no reason why he couldn’t be a good sprinter.”

Jockey Damian Lane was also full of praise for Veight, the fourth foal of dual Group-winning mare Neena Rock.

“He was beaten for a touch of speed early, and I was probably two lengths further away from Recommendation than ideal in the run,” Lane said. “He gave a good kick, Recommendation, and I had to chase him from a long way out.

“As I started to build momentum I then felt Southport Tycoon coming, and thought I might’ve brought myself undone chasing the leader. But to Veight’s credit, he’s so tough, he digs in when it counts, and that was a really good win.”

Neena Rock, herself an $80,000 buy from Inglis’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale in 2010, was bought by Yulong for $500,000 at the Inglis Australian Broodmare sale of 2015.

Neena Rock is back in-foal to Grunt again, while Yulong COO Sam Fairgray reports Veight’s 2YO full-sister Rock Pop is preparing for her first race, also with Team McEvoy.

“It was fantastic to see Veight return in good form,” Fairgray said. “He’s continued on from his spring 3YO days, and it’s really good to see.”

Across the Tasman today, 6YO Master Fay (Deep Field) underlined his status as an exciting sprinter in the making with his third win from as many starts and a breakthrough black type victory in Ellerslie’s G3 Concorde Handicap over 1200m.

He was purchased as a weanling from Fairhill Farm’s draft at Inglis’ Australian Weanling Sale for $72,000 by New Zealand’s Bleakley Bloodstock. He’s now won $236,000, with yesterday’s powerhouse win suggesting there’d be many more ahead.

The win of Master Fay continues a hot run of success for Mulbring nursery Fairhill Farm, who also raised and sold yesterday’s G3 Blue Diamond (Fillies) Preview winner Hayasugi (Royal Meeting).

Master Fay made his debut in Hong Kong in 2021 with a dominant 2.5 length victory over 1200m. Then, after returning to New Zealand and having three years off the scene, he scored first-up at Tauranga two weeks ago.

Today the Chad Ormsby-trained gelding stepped up to stakes grade to claim his G3 victory by 1.3 lengths, travelling smoothly in fourth under Vinnie Colgan, seeing daylight at the 300m and surging powerfully to the line as a well-supported $4.90 chance.

Petrucci and Imwonderfultonight - both daughters of I Am Invincible and Easter Yearling Sale graduates - filled the minor placings in an all-Inglis trifecta.

Master Fay’s full brother, who was sold at last year’s Inglis Australian Weanling Sale for $180,000, will be offered by Alma Vale/Kitchwin Hills Partnership at the coming Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

Inglis also sold the winner of the feature on today’s Randwick card, the Listed Carrington Stakes, with Zou Tiger (Zoustar) storming away to a 2.5 length win.

The four-year-old John O’Shea-trained gelding was a $200,000 purchase from the Widden Stud draft at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

Twice G1-placed at 3, this first Stakes win for the now 4YO brings his earnings beyond $500,000.

Zou Tiger’s yearling half-brother by Written By will be offered at this year’s Inglis Easter sale.

Also at Randwick, Easter sale headliner Switzerland (Snitzel) stormed into Golden Slipper calculations with an imperious 2.7 length win on debut in the Join ATC Membership 2YO Handicap (1000m).

Switzerland was the fifth-highest lot and the third-top colt when bought at Inglis Easter last year by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier. He’s the first foal of Canadian-bred mare Ms Bad Behavior (Blame), a dual stakes-winner in the US bought by Arrowfield’s Jon Freyer - with the stud’s sire Snitzel in mind - for $600,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2019.

Ms Bad Behavior has now had three colts by Snitzel, with Freyer reporting a “superb” yearling colt is bound for Easter this year.

Today, the Chris Waller-trained speedster gave favourite-backers little cause for concern in an eminently professional display, settling behind the leader for Kerrin McEvoy, pushing into the clear at the 300m and charging home.

Bookmakers wound the valuable colt into $8 equal second-favouritism for the $5m G1 Golden Slipper at Rosehill on March 23, where he’s set to try to emulate last year’s victory by another Coolmore-Waller Snitzel colt, the homebred Shinzo.

The win of Switzerland continues a hot run of success for Inglis 2YOs, which has seen 6 individual Inglis 2YOs win in the last 2 days.

Joining yesterday’s Caulfield Stakes winners High Octane and Hayasugi, were today’s winners, Ascot debut winner Glasgow Lass (Alabama Express), a $28,000 Great Southern Weanling Sale purchase, El Morzillo (Star Witness), a $50,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale purchase who broke her maiden at Sunshine Coast, Winning Proposal (Shalaa), a $50,000 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale purchase who beat older horses on debut at Newcastle and the aforementioned Switzerland.

A updated order of entry for the $2m Inglis Millennium, to be run over 1100m at Randwick on February 10th for 2YOs, will be released on Monday.