It was the day for our debutants to kick off their racing careers at our home track on Thursday.
Race one we saddled up Eire of Fortune, Manapouri and Jotopeli. It was almost a stable trifecta with Eire of Fortune winning the race and stablemate Manapouri back in second. Jotopeli wasn’t disgraced back in fourth placing without any luck throughout. The ownership group of all three horses have been very patient in getting their horses to the races and it was great to see them all run so well.
Eire of Fortune (pictured) is a filly by Shamus Award who has been a little bit temperamental, typical of the breed and why we have taken our time with her to make the debut as a late 3yo. She certainly has a motor but keeping her settled and relaxed will be key. Bred to get over further, she showed a nice turn of foot to win over the unsuitable distance of 1100m. Her trials leading into her debut yesterday had ticked the heavy track conditions, so we were confident she would handle the track. Purchased for $100k from the Easter Yearling sale back in 2023, Eire of Fortune certainly kicked off her career in fine style.
French Navy was our second winner for the day with Linda Meech in the saddle. The 3yo gelding by Astern is a big baby still learning his job. Last start at Warracknabeal he was a beaten favourite, but we weren’t deterred by his defeat. He wasn’t keen on racing behind horses and hesitant to take gaps. Yesterday from the lovely 1400m start at Warrnambool from a wide draw, Linda allowed him to jump and sit wide where French Navy was happy and got into a lovely rhythm. Although it didn’t look pretty, it was a perfect way to ride this horse. It was great to get the win for Matt Walsh and his connections. Matt bred French Navy, and we all know the time, money and effort that goes into breeding one and getting them to the races. The ownership group would’ve got a great thrill from the win after two promising seconds before yesterday.
Congratulations to the winning connections.
