Westbury Stud stallions have genuine chances of completing a black-type double with a home-bred pair of three-year-olds at Wanganui on Saturday.
Telperion’s son Accidental Tourist will have plenty of support in the Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas while there is also an air of confidence that Reliable Man’s daughter Librarsi can claim top honours in the Listed The O’Leary’s Fillies’ Stakes.
Trained by Mark Walker, Accidental Tourist was an $80,000 Karaka purchase and finished third in his only juvenile appearance last season and then booked his shot at a stakes race with a comfortable first-up victory against older opposition at Hawera.
“If it did happen to rain and the track became really testing, that would really suit him," Walker said. “He is well suited to the race on Saturday.”
Librarsi was a smart two-year-old debut winner at Otaki for breeder-owner Gerry Harvey and was then far from disgraced when sixth from the outside gate in the Listed Ryder Stakes at Te Rapa.
While trainer Allan Sharrock expects her to star over more ground later in the season, the filly has inherited plenty of speed.
“She’s from a pacy family and she is out of a General Nediym mare and it’s a very good pedigree,” he said.
Her mother Tennessee Love was successful at 1200 metres and is a half-sister to the G1 Coolmore Classic winner Aloha, dam of the multiple Group-winning sprinter Libertini.
Sharrock has also added headgear to Librarsi, who has reacted well to the change.
“I’ve put blinkers on her on Saturday and looking at her work on Thursday morning she is going to take a bit of beating, she went super,” he said.
“The track will be no issue and she won on an off track first-up and she only got beaten 2.6l in the Ryder at Te Rapa, so second-up it was a good run.”
“I think the Eulogy will be a nice race for her, she will get a mile being by Reliable Man. I just want to tick off getting some black type with her and hopefully she can do that on Saturday.”
El Roca is also well-represented in the fillies’ feature with Gwen Stephani, Rocababy and Romancing The Moon in the line-up.
The opening two-year-old event of the season will kick off the Wanganui card and the Westbury graduate Illicit Dreams, a daughter of Vancouver who was a $30,000 Karaka purchase, has a trial placing and a handy draw to back her claims.
Reliable Man’s remarkably genuine son Lord Ardmore is dual accepted for Friday’s Listed Wyong Gold Cup and Saturday’s Listed Tattersall’s Club Cup at Randwick and a top hope in either contest while a fresh Expat tackles the Listed Mona Lisa Stakes.
Born and raised at Westbury, the Mark Newnham-trained Expat is a multiple Group-winning mare by Makfi.
Two runners of great interest for the Karaka farm at Moonee Valley on Saturday is the home-bred and sold The Inferno and Inspirational Girl.
Cliff Brown’s The Inferno will bid to retain his title in the G2 McEwen Stakes and the fun-loving six-year-old enjoyed a trip away from his Mornington base with a midweek spin around the track.
Brown said his stable star was ‘a bit of a lad’ and the day out had taken the edge off him ahead of his first-up run.
Inspirational Girl has only five rivals in the G2 Feehan Stakes, in which the Danny O’Brien-prepared Reliable Man seven-year-old will kick off her spring campaign with the G1 Caulfield Cup her dream grand final.
At Randwick, pre-post G1 Metropolitan Handicap favourite Benaud will make the second appearance of his spring preparation when he steps out in the G2 Chelmsford Stakes.
Last season’s G1 Australian Derby runner-up resumed in the G1 Winx Stakes and the Reliable Man gelding found the line strongly for sixth.
The Dalakhani stallion will also be represented in the Listed Tattersall’s Club Cup by the Peter Lock-trained She’s A Maneater while Bacio Del Mist will chase her third career victory and second on the bounce for Lee and Cherie Curtis in the Midway Handicap.
At Te Rapa on Sunday, Suliman’s versatility will be tested when Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal’s Redwood debuts in the maiden hurdle after posting six wins on the flat.
El Roca offspring Miss Cartier and Roc Cha take on the open sprinters and Makfi’s sons Marroni and Osaka, both bred and raised at Westbury, and Wordsworth do battle in the open 1500 metre contest.