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Inglis Race Series event has a tendency to produce future feature winners

When the best lead-up races to the Group 1 two-year-old events are discussed, the Inglis Nursery, which will be run at Randwick this Saturday, rarely rates a mention.

Which is probably a smidgin unfair given the launching pad to Group success the $500,000 Restricted Listed event over 1000 metres has proven.

The Nursery has only been around for 13 years but in that time has produced Golden Slipper winners Mossfun and She Will Reign and a Blue Diamond winner in Extreme Choice.

It has more than justified the faith of Inglis to put on a pre-Christmas event solely for its graduates and has evolved into a race many of the country's biggest stables are happy to target with some of their best juveniles.

"It's an important race in our race series and it's a race that we know that people like to target," Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said.

"The timing is good from the point of view that it is not really early but it then gives participants enough time to roll back into races like the Inglis Millennium and then into races like the Blue Diamond and the Golden Slipper.

"It's been amazing in its capacity to produce good horses and here's hoping that 2022 might see another really exciting horse."

Mossfun won the Nursery on debut before going on to win the 2014 Golden Slipper, three seasons before She Will Reign won the Nursery at start number two and also claimed the Golden Slipper.

Extreme Choice, the 2015 Nursery winner, was unplaced as favourite in the Golden Slipper but scored an explosive win in the Blue Diamond and went on to win the Moir Stakes as a three-year-old.

She Will Reign also won a Moir Stakes, as did Wild Ruler, who launched his career with a win in the 2019 Nursery.

Group 2 winners Chance Bye and Twilight Royale also adorn the Nursery honour roll, along with Group 3 winners Pane In The Glass, Odyssey Moon – both of whom placed at Group 1 level – and Diamond Earth.

One of the more impressive Nursery winners was Acrobat, who strolled home by 2-1/4 lengths in the 2020 edition at what turned out to be his only start and the son of Fastnet Rock now stands at Coolmore Stud.

Acrobat was trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, who also won last year's edition with El Padrino, and Victoria's leading stable is again represented this year, albeit by one of the outsiders, Brazen Beau colt Bold Julius, a $200,000 Classic purchase.

The most expensive horse in the race is $420,000 Easter buy Facile, who is racing for more than just prizemoney with the Trapeze Artist filly one of two runners eligible for the $200,000 Pink Bonus, which is on offer to the first horse home who boasts at least 75 percent female ownership.

The other is Lauri Parker-trained outsider Istoria Girl, a daughter of Written By who cost $45,000 at the Classic Sale.

Others engaged in this year's Inglis Nursery include the Michael Freedman-trained Blanc De Blanc ($360,000 Classic), Bjorn Baker trio Disneck ($200,000 Classic), Line Of Law ($160,000 Classic) and Cathay Bracelet ($160,000 Easter), while Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott will be represented by The Little Pumper ($120,000 Classic).

e Little Pumper ($120,000 Classic).