Major Artie has been taken along slowly since a Boxing Day debut in 2019.
In fact, he struggled in those early races and spent much of 2020 in the paddock. But he returned a different horse with two sharp trials late last year before signalling renewed intention, closing off nicely in a maiden at Newcastle and, of course, that breakthrough success at Canterbury on New Year’s Day.
Earlier at Gosford, the American bloodlines are on show when talented Goulburn filly Diorissima prepares to break through in an exciting 3YO Maiden Hcp (1600m) to open the meeting. She’s a stunning grey daughter of Tapit, who was not just a leading US sire in 2014, but two years later set a North American service fee record at the time of $US300,000.
Diorissima came off an eight-week break to motor home late in a Kembla maiden over 1500m, and much of the form from that race is on show again here, with Randwick filly Cabarita finishing hard third-up in that race.
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But in the biggest breeding irony of the day, fancy two-time Doncaster winner and one of the greatest mudlarks ever seen, Sacred Falls, is the sire of two runners who can both win smack bang in the middle of a searing summer.
Improving three-year-old filly Yggdrasil is the third serious chance in that opening race alongside Diorissima and Cabarita; while debutant four-year-old Loch Lomond will prove very hard to beat in a Maiden Plate (1100m) for the older horses.
Both are by four-time group 1 winner Sacred Falls, who had a 33 per cent strike rate from 27 starts including a NZ Guineas as a three-year-old and George Main Stakes as a five-year-old.
Tips supplied by Racing NSW
Full form and race replays available at racingnsw.com.au
