Young filly bound for stardom
ROB Heathcote says his rookie filly Abounding is so professional – and potentially so good – that he often has to do a double take when he looks at her.
The $75,000 Magic Millions buy, for First Light Racing, will make her debut at Doomben on Saturday as $1.55 favourite after braining her opposition in trials at Eagle Farm and Doomben.
Heathcote has never really particularly targeted the rich Gold Coast Magic Millions day in January but he is daring to dream with the two-year-old daughter of Rich Enuff.
“There are times that I have actually forgotten she is a twoyear-old,” Heathcote said.
“That’s because she hasn’t put a foot wrong from day one, she has just flown under the radar and she just goes about her work. Often the good ones have that little bit of sass, that little bit of X-factor, and she has certainly got that.
“It’s a bit like a horse like Rothfire, from the early days these sort of horses never do anything wrong. They have got this air about them, they are just dream horses.
“She has to go out and do it on Saturday but Ben Thompson, from the moment he first sat on her, he came in and said, ‘gee she’s good’.”
Making Abounding’s task easier on Saturday is the fact she only faces four rivals in the 2YO Handicap (1050m) at Doomben. After an armada of Les Ross-trained, Mike Crooks-owned juvenile horses with the Mishani moniker have raced in the city in recent times, there are none in Saturday’s $75,000 2YO contest at Doomben.
Ross has instead deployed plenty of Mishani youngsters in a race on the provincial Saturday card on the Gold Coast.
“It’s funny, a couple of weeks ago people were blowing up that Les Ross had just about the whole field in a Saturday city two-year-old race, now he has got none in this race and there is only a field of five,” Heathcote said.
“But I can only worry about my filly. Her trials have been impressive and she floats across the ground.
“All the signs are positive, although she still has to go out into the hot cauldron of competition and compete.
“She will jump and cross them all on Saturday.”
Heathcote takes a strong team to the races at Doomben on Saturday and could easily walk away with multiple winners. But the Group 1 winning trainer identified in-form mare Drive A Deel, who is aiming for four consecutive wins, as the one with the strongest winning chance apart from Abounding.
Drive A Deel is the $2.40 favourite in the Class Six Handicap over 1600m.