News

Promising gallopers on display at Sandown

12th Nov 2011

Promising gallopers So Swift and Under The Eiffel marked themselves down as horses to follow next autumn after making the step to Group level for their patient connections at Sandown this afternoon.

The feature in Melbourne for three-year-olds was the $350,000 Group 2 MRC Sandown Guineas (1600m) which saw Bill & Symon Wilde pull off a great training effort with So Swift, taking the lightly raced runner from a Hamilton maiden win 12 days ago to victory in todays event.

The son of Cornerstone Stud stallion Barely A Moment was making a big step up against a top class field, yet showed tremendous tenacity to hold off the more favoured Niagara and Galah in a head bobbing finish.

“There was a bit of depth to the field this year”, Symon Wilde said after the win.

“He [So Swift] was probably the one on the way up, as some of these have had busy springs. This [Sandown Guineas] was always the aim for him and it’s great to pull it off”, Symon added.

SO SWIFT ($7,500 2009 Great Southern Weanling, 3g Barely A Moment-Theophania) was purchased as a young weanling in Melbourne by Steve Jostlear’s Ampulla Lodge, and after not being able to sell as a yearling Jostlear compiled a group of people to race the youngster, including Warrnambool Racing Club Deputy Chairman Ashley King.

Now the winner of two races from just five starts with $230,000 in prizemoney, the connections of So Swift (pictured between runners) have a very exciting young galloper on their hands.

Earlier in the day another promising runner in Under The Eiffel showed his true colours, recording his third win from as many starts this preparation for trainer Tony Vasil when winning the Group 3 MRC Alannah & Madeline Foundation Stakes (1500m) in style.

The Torryburn Stud bred four-year-old has spent much of his racing career amongst the top grade and now the winner of six races from 14 starts the son of Mossman is really starting to display his true potential.

“He’s a pretty handy horse and I don’t think you’ve seen the best of him. Possibly as I said before the race he might be a sneaky [Group 1] Stradbroke horse,” Vasil said.

UNDER THE EIFFEL ($45,000 2009 Premier, 4g Mossman-Spire) was plucked from Torryburn’s draft at the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale by Aquanita Racing, and today became the fourth stakes winner for the Mossman-Danehill cross.

To see Sirecam footage of Under The Eiffel as a yearling CLICK HERE

Torryburn Stud will again bring some stellar drafts to Inglis’ major yearling sales in 2012, including a half-brother (by Dubawi) to last night’s impressive Singapore Group 2 winner Super Easy to the Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

Picture: So Swift (between Niagara and Galah) holds on to win Group 2 MRC Sandown Guineas