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A pair of consistent gallopers have continued their fine form from the spring with first up Group successes at Rosehill last Saturday.
Rosehill hosted two Group races last Saturday with the Breeders Classic for fillies and mares while the colts contested the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m).
The feature event was the Group 2 NSW Thoroughbred Breeders Classic where the ever reliable Catkins was sent out to defend her success in the 2014 renewal.
Placed to perfection under Set Weights plus Penalties, Catkins on paper looked hard to beat 12 months on in a Breeders Classic renewal lacking the depth of what she took out last year.
The 2014 renewal possessed Group 1 winners such as Steps In Time, Streama and Driefontein along with other Group winners Sharnee Rose and Pretty Pins plus stakes winning pocket dynamo White Sage.
It is safe to say the 2015 Breeders Classic wasn’t made up of a similar quality group of mares and while coming away as the winner, there were nervous moments for followers of Catkins last Saturday.
In typical style, Catkins was smartly away with jockey Hugh Bowman settling her behind the leading duo Role Model and Lilliburlero.
Off the back of the leaders into the straight and quickly looming on their outside, Catkins went stride for stride with Lilliburlero approaching the final furlong.
Catkins couldn’t shake the David Payne-trained mare on her inside and only edged ahead inside the last 100m for a slender success.
The Team Hawkes-trained Mihiri ran third, 2.3 lengths away.
While the margin was slender, there was plenty to like about Catkins’ first up display.
The daughter of Dubawi was not sporting her customary pink blinkers and while unable to kick clear of the lesser performed Lilliburlero, Bowman refused to use the whip instead riding her out hands and heels only.
This should be kept in mind as raw weights and measures resulted in the mare returning a Timeform rating of only 110.
Such a figure sits below the prior five year winning average of the event which has hosted the likes of More Joyous in 2011 and Steps In Time who claimed the 2012 and 2013 renewals.
Catkins 2014 Breeders Classic victory returned a Timeform figure of 115.
110 comes in six pounds shy of Catkins’ master Timeform rating of 116 achieved when second in the 2013 Myer Classic behind stablemate Red Tracer.
Bowman managed to give her a soft run which should put the mare in good stead for the remainder of her preparation.
A natural progression for a mare coming out of the Breeders Classic tends to be the Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) onto the Coolmore Classic.
While Catkins is expected to contest the former where she will be similarly well suited under Set Weights plus Penalties before bypassing the latter with the Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) her main goal during the autumn.
Waller will keep chasing that elusive Group 1 with the mare with the Queensland Winter Carnival also in mind.
After a breakout campaign during the second half of last year, Scissor Kick hit the ground running at Rosehill last Saturday with a first up win in the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m).
The Paul Messara-trained colt was clearly the class horse in the event and while 1200m is not his pet trip, still posted a long neck success.
The long striding colt looks set for an exciting autumn campaign which has the immediate goals of the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) and the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m).
His first up outing returned a Timeform rating of 112, six pounds shy of a master rating achieved when gallant behind Hallowed Crown in the 2014 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m).
112 sits well above the prior five year winning average of the contest, the same figure 2014 Eskimo Prince Stakes winner El Roca ran to when defeating Dissident.
Dissident franked the form out of the renewal in going on to claim the Hobartville Stakes and the Randwick Guineas that campaign.
The son of Sebring then went on to claim the Memsie Stakes (1400m) and Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) during his first four-year-old preparation.