John Thompson’s concerns about heavy track conditions were quickly extinguished by With Your Blessing at Kembla Grange on Saturday, powering to a commanding front-running win in the A$160,000 Evergreen Turf Australia Handicap (1200m).
The New Zealand-bred son of Vadamos had begun his five-year-old season with two promising placings at Randwick and Rosehill in October and November. He was sent out as a $3.80 favourite on Saturday, but Thompson admitted he was unsure what to expect in significantly rain-affected footing.
“I wasn’t sure that he’d get through the ground today,” he said. “He’d been good on soft in the past, but we really weren’t sure about heavy.
“But I was very confident that the horse had improved from his second-up run into today, so that performance was very good to see. The blinkers have really done the trick and switched him on. He began very well and we were pretty confident a long way from home.”
Positively ridden by Josh Parr, With Your Blessing broke sharply from the gates, went forward and dominated the race from there. He never gave the chasers a look in, kicking hard down the straight and winning by four and a half lengths.
“That was impressive,” Parr said. “He found the front quite comfortably today. With the blinkers on, he pricked his ears and just went a comfortable gallop the whole way.
“I was confident that he’d be hard to run down from that position if he showed the turn of foot that he has, and he certainly did that.”
Saturday’s win was the fourth career victory for With Your Blessing, who had performed with credit in strong company as a two-year-old with a fourth in the Gr.3 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) and a fifth in the Gr.3 Baillieu Handicap (1400m).
With Your Blessing was bred by the Hawkins family’s Llanhennock Trust and is by Vadamos out of the Darci Brahma mare Super Trouper. Herself a five-race winner from a 28-start career in the Llanhennock colours, Super Trouper is a half-sister to the stakes-placed Lim’s Dashing.
With Your Blessing is the best of three foals to race so far for Super Trouper, who is also the dam of the three-time Australian placegetter Super Alana.
Super Trouper has since produced the unraced three-year-old Vadamos gelding Vaidisimo, and she has a yearling filly by Ole Kirk. She was served by State Of Rest this spring.
With Your Blessing was bought for A$70,000 in Sydney as a yearling. Along with his four wins, the gelding has also recorded seven placings and has earned A$283,780 in stakes.