Farnan and Prague both came won their respective heats as Randwick’s Kensington track hosted a trio of top-class trials on Friday morning.
Owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds, Aquis Farm and Kia Ora stud, Farnan showed his customary lightning speed from the barriers and proceeded to make every yard a winning one under jockey Hugh Bowman. It was his first public appearance as a three-year-old and the performance was particularly impressive considering he was up against the likes of Mamaragan, Fierce Impact, Probabeel and Kolding.
“He looked fantastic stretching out there this morning and it’s really exciting to see him back in good shape,”
“We always thought and hoped he would train on, but I think everything we saw this morning is the first indication that he has.
“We have got some pretty lofty ambitions for him this preparation. He would certainly have to improve to achieve all that, but we certainly feel he is the right horse for us.”
Delighted with how the colt came out of the trail Bott suggested that we could see the Phoenix Thoroughbreds bred colt take on the 1400m trip of the G1 Golden Rose.
“I wouldn’t put it past him to stretch out further but whether we need to ask that question of him or not (I don’t know),” Bott said.
“Of course he does have natural brilliance at the shorter trips, so when there’s particularly good options at those sprints as well … whether it be coming down to Melbourne for the Coolmore or looking to stay up here for The Everest … they are both really good options with a horse with such natural brilliance.”
Prague had to work a little harder to get on top in his heat. Taking on the second jump-out of his preparation, jockey James McDonald had the Phoenix and Aquis owned Group winner in behind runners before riding him to a finish late on.
“In the first trial we were a little soft on him,” explained co-trainer Annabel Neasham.
“He’s come back quite laid back so for the second trial today we put the shades back on which he had on for some of his prep last time and he was much sharper. He was really good through the line and I loved the way he pricked his ears.
“He’s a funny horse and he seems to get better throughout the prep; he puts condition on as he goes. I’m sure he’ll come on with every run but I was very happy how forward he was after today’s trial. He’ll be ready to kick off in the next few weeks.”