This Saturday in Sydney ace trainer of juveniles Gai Waterhouse will be looking to score another win with her to date undefeated two-year-old Pitcrew who she is preparing for a shot at the $1 million Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) this spring.
2013 Golden Rose hope Pitcrew will shoot for their third win on the trot in Sydney this Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart.
A talented son of Sebring, Pitcrew has won both of their career starts to date and will be out to make it a trifecta in the first at Warwick Farm on Saturday jumping odd-on favourite for the $85,000 Share Care Congrats Chris Waller Benchmark (1400m).
Purchased for a notable $360,000 from last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sales the horse debuted at Canterbury in early June.
They hit the right note straight away too with a bit two and a half length win there over 1250m on a Slow (7).
Waterhouse then took them to the big city with a Rosehill run over 1400m in the mud a month later where they rose to the challenge putting one and a quarter lengths on Amovatio when retaining their undefeated status.
Getting another likely Slow-rated track for their Warwick Farm debut on the weekend Pitcrew is paying around $1.70 in the markets to defeat their seven rivals, again including the Chris Waller-trained Amovatio.
Pitcrew is on the same path as another former star three-year-old from Waterhouse’s logbook, Squamosa, who got their chance in the Golden Rose three years ago.
Like Pitcrew Squamosa, a son of Not a Single Doubt, showed awesome early ability on soft tracks with two massive victories at Randwick.
They went on to win the Group 3 Run To The Rose (1300m) and were then far from disgraced when a long neck second to Toorak Toff in the 2010 Golden Rose.
It is something similar Waterhouse is now looking to pull off with Pitcrew starting with another win on Saturday.
Held at Rosehill Gardens on September 14 the Golden Rose is the premier race for three-year-olds during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
Sydney’s leading lady of racing, Waterhouse has an imposing crew of youngsters Golden Rose bound this year including her Golden Slipper winning filly Overreach.
Also in the mix, Pitcrew is starting to do the right things to earn a shot up against their star stablemate in the classic having overcome earlier issues they displayed before being gelded.
“He’s always been a nice horse but he had a few temperament issues as a colt,” Mark Newnham, a stable representative for Waterhouse’s Tulloch Lodge operation, said after their last win on July 1.
“(But) as a gelding he hasn’t put a foot wrong.”
It was these early bad manners that forced Waterhouse to abandon initial plans to take them to the iconic $3.5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) which she subsequently won for a fifth time with Overreach.
“Within the camp and at trackwork there was the hope he could get up and get to the Slipper but we just couldn’t get him there,” Waterhouse’s stable jockey Nash Rawiller explained.
“The penny didn’t drop.
“Gai in her wisdom decided to give him more time.”
Rawiller has partnered with the galloper for their first two runs and will be aboard again on Saturday when they jump from an ideal gate two draw carrying the 59kg topweight.
“He is really applying himself to his trade now and he wants to be a racehorse,” Rawiller said.
“His first two runs have been really impressive and he gives the impression he will keep improving.”
