Bill Thurlow’s stable has hit the ground running in the early stages of the season and one of his in-form runners, Battle Secret, will chase local spoils in Sunday’s Steelformers Waverley Cup (2200m).
A seven-year-old by Battle Paint, Battle Secret has been lightly raced through his career due to injury, but he has found career best form of late, winning three in a row before finishing second to Sacred Pearl in the Egmont Cup (2100m) a fortnight ago.
“I thought it was a really good run in the Egmont Cup, he went super well and just got a little bit tucked away on the inside for a little bit too long,” Thurlow said.
“He didn’t get out and he is a rolling type of horse, it’s hard for him as a big long-striding type to sit and sprint. Once he got out, he found the line really well, so we were very pleased.
“I think he’s just really matured this year, he’s sound and a very happy horse.
“That’s all I can put it down too, but he’s found a very good patch of form and if he can carry on like that, long may it continue.”
Thurlow has a further six representatives at the Waverley meeting, including Frank The Tank, who faces a similar assignment in the Chris Grace / Tony Wilson Livestock (1650m) to his last start victory at the venue.
“He’s come through that run well, his work this week has been very good and we’ve had no issues with him,” he said.
“It’s a similar field to what he raced against last time, so we’re hoping he’ll run well again.
“We’d be pretty keen to see where he ends up after Sunday, he’s obviously Rating 75 so if he doesn’t win, he’ll stay in that grade and we can pick a nice race for him.
“If he does and goes up to open company, we’ve probably got to look at one or two of those Country Cup-type races and we’d like to get him over 2000m.
“I haven’t really mapped out a plan for him, but possibly something like a Feilding Cup could be on the cards in a couple of weeks, we’ll just see what happens on Sunday.”
The meeting will also mark the start of Movin Out’s career, a filly by Staphanos that impressed Thurlow through her juvenile trials.
“She’s a really progressive filly and we really like her, she won a couple of trials as a two-year-old and she’s come back and it’s taken her a little while to come up this time,” he said.
“We’ve had to be a little bit patient with her, but going forward she’s going to be a nice filly and even though she’s drawn wide, she’ll run well.
“It’s not the best draw, but we’re probably quite lucky in the fact that the 1400m at Waverley has quite a long run down the back, so she should be able to get into a reasonable position.”
Movin Out will be ridden by apprentice jockey Triston Moodley, who also partners stablemates Frank The Tank, Crunchie Boy, Elivaber and The Big Picture in their respective races.
One of Thurlow’s stable headliners, No Compromise, is safely back at his Waverley property after a strong run into third in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Te Rapa.
The eight-year-old is a previous Group One winner of the Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) in Australia, and since returning to his homeland, has also placed in last season’s Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2050m) behind Campionessa.
“He went really well, I thought it was a good run and he had a nice trip, he acquitted himself well,” Thurlow said.
“He’s nice and bright and travelled home well, he’s an older horse now with a few campaigns so they seem to handle it a bit better than the younger ones. A bit of travelling and having a race like that is nothing to him at this stage, he has come through it nicely.
“He’ll probably have one more run on Melbourne Cup Day in the Balmerino Stakes (Gr.3, 2000m) and then there won’t be much for him for a little while.
“He’s at the stage where there’s nowhere to hide, he’s weight-for-age and that’s where he’s at.”