Forever You further enhanced her reputation as a stayer to follow with victory at Warwick Farm on Wednesday (March 23).
Since the Galileo filly arrived from France, Annabel Neasham has now sent out the Phoenix Thoroughbreds, and Fung Family Investments owned runner to win over 2000m, 2350m and 2400m for three wins in four starts. The only defeat in that run of races came over an inadequate trip at Rosehill two starts ago.
The latest success was far from straightforward, after a rather lackadaisical start. Jockey Rachel King had to work her slow starting mount into the vanguard in the early stages. Once there, the filly travelled nicely in fourth and one off the rail. King eased Forever You up into second as the field rounded the turn for home. The pair were soon upside the longtime leader, still hard on the bridle. With no dangers emerging from the peloton, it became clear the race was going to one of the two horses in front. The eventual winner nosed ahead but could complete shake her rival, who battled hard. However, with the line in sight, Forever You had the advantage and was in control.
“We’ve got a lot to look forward to,” said stable representative Todd Pollard. “Whether she pushes on for another run, we’ll see, but we’ll definitely be excited about her next preparation.
“She’s a real stayer and takes a little bit to muster coming out of the gates. Rachel had to give her a dig early but got her in a perfect spot and we were happy with how the filly travelled throughout the race.
“We’ve always had a really good opinion of her; she shows us a lot at home. With a stayer like her, as long as she can keep working through the grades like she has been doing, we’re pretty sure she can do something.”
Meanwhile, at Sandown, the Phoenix Thoroughbreds team had plenty more to smile about. First, Dun Warrior entered plenty of blackbooks with an unlucky defeat on debut. Having been the eye-catching traveller through his first-up run, the Dundeel gelding was trapped in the closing stages on the rails. 100m out, the Price-Kent trainee finally got in the clear and quickly closed down the leaders off a slow pace to miss out by around a neck. Later on the same card, talented Pride Of Dubai filly Sense Of Honour returned from a year-and-a-half absence and pleased her Dubai-based owners with a solid third-place finish.