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Three black type events were conducted at Rosehill on Saturday spearheaded by the Listed Festival Stakes.
Despite the spring carnival having wrapped up in Sydney almost two months ago, Saturday programs have maintained a level of quality not usually associated with this time of year.
A few of the notable winners we’ve seen during this period include Interlocuter, Unforgotten, Sedanzer, Glenall and Pretty Fast who has already gone on to deliver at stakes level.
Some older horses we’ve seen on the circuit for a while stepped up on Saturday, namely Testashadow contesting the Listed Festival Stakes (1500m).
Settled midfield, Testashadow came off the bridle a long way from home however still managed to produce a long sustained run and claim a slender success.
The run was awarded a Timeform rating of 109, a shade below the prior five year winning average of the event.
109 comes in a pound clear of his prior master figure of 108 achieved on two prior occasions, the latest of which came when third in the 2017 Hawkesbury Gold Cup behind Fabrizio.
Next for Testashadow will be the Group 2 Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on December 16.
The last horse to claim the Festival Stakes – Villiers Stakes double was Monton in 2011.
A key talking point out of Saturday’s Festival Stakes was the Australian debut of Mister Sea Wolf.
Only narrowly beaten, the Chris Waller-trained Mister Sea Wolf returned a Timeform rating of 104.
The son of Amadeus Wolf possesses a master Timeform figure of 109 and was also stakes placed in Ireland.
Mister Sea Wolf will no doubt derive improvement from his Australian debut and profiles as a lightweight Villiers hope next fortnight.
Egyptian Symbol returned from a late season 2016/17 campaign racing largely at Group 1 level in last Saturday’s Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m).
The mare thrived, dashing away late on the testing track for a 1.3 length success over Glenall who fought well along the inside.
Bjorn Baker’s five-year-old produced a Timeform rating of 112, above the prior five year winning average of the event.
Egyptian Symbol will head to next month’s Magic Millions meeting, a path she has taken for the past two years.
The first stakes event of the afternoon was the Listed ATC Cup (2000m) taken out by Broadside.
Broadside on Saturday returned from a freshen up following a solid fifth in the Group 1 Metropolitan over 2400m.
The ATC Cup represented a substantial drop in grade for Broadside and he capitalised, winning by two lengths from the in form Lord Kingsley.
The display was assessed at a Timeform rating of 107, equal to his master Timeform figure initially achieved when third in the Colin Stephen Quality (2400m) at Rosehill during the spring.
Broadside’s win rounded out a hat-trick on the day for Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott stable with Imperial Aviator and Sedanzer each delivering as favourites early in the program.