Jockey James McDonald has cleaned up in the opening two-year-old races of the Sydney season, highlighted by his Gimcrack Stakes romp aboard Enthaar.
Mcdonald Lands Juvenile Double At Randwick
Ciaron Maher is trying to keep a lid on expectations for juvenile Enthaar after she backed up her breathtaking barrier trial form with an equally superb debut win.
The Emirates Park homebred justified her $1.60 favouritism, coasting to a three-length victory in Saturday’s Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) at Randwick.
Maher has had his share of talented two-year-old fillies, including Magic Millions winner Away Game and Loving Gaby, and he is in awe of Enthaar.
“Those good horses, they don’t look like they’re going that fast but they are. She is pretty exciting,” Maher said.
A daughter of Written Tycoon, Enthaar will be aimed at the Golden Gift in November and a victory there will secure her place in next year’s Golden Slipper, for which she is an early favourite.
Enthaar was in a different league to her rivals with Mallory ($21) best of the chasers to grab second, a half-length ahead of Total Babe ($7).
James McDonald said the filly was a dream to ride and talented beyond her years.
“She’s the most mature of the early two-year-olds I’ve sat on,” McDonald said.
“She’s just fully there. Her action is so strong. Mentally, she is so strong and with her high cruising speed that she possesses it’s going to hold her in great stead.”
McDonald made a clean sweep of Sydney’s first juvenile races of the season with victory aboard the Chris Waller-trained Shaquero in the Breeders’ Plate (1000m) a race later.
Shaquero’s time of 57.42 seconds was almost half a second slower than Enthaar’s but Waller has no doubt the son of first season sire Shalaa has a bright future.
“He’s just got class written all over him,” Waller said.
“If you asked me which Group One race he’s going to win I’d say it would be a Doncaster rather than a Golden Slipper but who knows, he might win that on the way through.”
Waller is not known as a trainer of two-year-olds but has a surprisingly good record in the Breeders’ Plate winning three of the past four with Performer (2017), Global Quest (2019) and Shaquero.