NOTIONS Aims to Deliver Back To Back Gloaming Wins for Dynamic Freedman

Race 9 at Rosehill on Saturday is the Gr3 Gloaming Stakes 1800m for 3yo’s at Set Weights and the Dynamic / Richard Freedman Team have a genuine opportunity to go “back-to-back” winning the event.


LOVE TAP

Last year it was won by LOVE TAP and in this year’s renewal,  we have promising 3yo filly NOTIONS carrying our colours.

NOTIONS has a career record of 4 starts: 2 Wins, 1 Second & $45,110 Prizemoney.


NOTIONS

She has followed a similar pathway into the race that was mapped out and achieved with LOVE TAP and trainer Richard Freedman has no doubts that she will achieve the 1800m trip strongly.

Also, jockey Rachel King believes the same, after winning on her last start over a mile, Rachel wanted to stick with her in the Gloaming believing she was a genuine chance over 1800m which is a positive endorsement.  

NOTIONS 3yo Filly (by Press Statement x She’s Sirius) was facing the starter at only her fourth career start and her third career start for Team Dynamic and trainer Richard Freedman, when she stamped herself as a filly of the future, especially out over a trip, when she produced a powerful finish, thanks to a terrific ride by Rachel King to claim victory over 1600m.


NOTIONS Winning at Hawkesbury over 1600m

Early season 3yo’s have a significant disadvantage in physical and mental maturity, so it takes a good 3yo to beat older horses at this time of year, and NOTIONS proved in her victory, she has the class to add further nice victories to her resume.

Under the allotted weight scale of that event, NOTIONS was poorly treated at the weights, as her true weight should have been 54.0kgs but she was forced to carry 55.0kgs, receiving only 0.5kg off the 3yo colt where she should have received 2.0kgs under normal circumstances.

In the Gloaming Stakes, she will carry 54.5kgs whilst the 3yo colts and geldings will carry 56.5kgs.

From the time this filly arrived at Richard Freedman’s Rosehill stables, Richard has been upbeat at the class of filly he had been given to his care, and he has been aiming high so we mapped out a plan to achieve these goals.



Purchased at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sales as a 2yo, for $90,000, she was offered for sale by AQUIS who were undergoing a change in business philosophy, which resulted in them only wanting to race colts to develop into stallion prospects, so their fillies and mares were no longer part of their business strategy, therefore they offered more than a dozen for unreserved sale.



Having done our own due diligence, both genetically and commercially, then having our Vet Dr Tim Roberts give her the all-clear, we held the belief that this 2YO filly NOTIONS (by Press Statement from She’s Sirius (by Galileo)), had the conformation and the commercial and genetic pedigree to be a 1600m to 2000m filly as a 3yo.

After all, her sire Press Statement won the JJ Atkins (1600m) as a 2yo, the Hobartville (1400m), Stan Fox (1500m) and Caulfield Guineas (1600m) as a 3yo and run 2nd in the Randwick Guineas (1600m).

Her dam She’s Sirius won 2 races – both at a mile, and she is by the greatest sire GALILEO (by Sadler’s Wells) a great source of middle-distance genetics.

NOTIONS had only the one race start behind her at time of Broodmare sale.

Off the back of two barrier trials wins at 1000m, she was supported in betting on debut.

Whilst her result didn’t read appealing, 6th of 8 runners as favourite over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast, when we reviewed the videos, she had drawn barrier 1, but was laying on the back of the barriers when the gates opened and as a result was slowly away, then she got shuffled back along the fence to sit three pairs back and then was checked at the 500m and when finally free, stargazed and ran about, only warming up over the final 50m to finish 2.3 lengths away.

The Stewards report says that the rider advised that she was looking for further than 1000m.

Also, since purchasing her, our filly has received a significant pedigree boost when her 3yo half-sister named SIRILEO MISS (Pride Of Dubai) was placed 3rd by 0.6 length in the Gr3 1800m Auria S., before running 5th by 1.2 length in the Gr1 South Australian Oaks.

SIRILEO MISS has a career of 7 sts: 3-2-1 and $158,900.

NOTIONS is also a half-sister to Stakes Placed SOPHIA’S CHOICE.

SHE’S SIRIUS had 7 foals to race – 7 winners.

NOTIONS had won both her trials very impressively and went to the races on Sunday 23 May for the first time over an unsuitable 1000m. That was just 3 days before being sold at the Magic Millions.

When an endoscope was done on the filly on Monday morning after the race, and being the day prior to the sale, the filly had an excellent Grade 1 airway however it was noted that she had significant amount of mucous in her throat, which highlighted she has an infection which needed antibiotic treatment.

For NOTIONS to race the way it did, with the muck in her throat, the run was super, and her future appeared very bright.

The filly was also BOBS eligible so it made sense to race a 2yo filly like this in Sydney where she can earn the additional BOBS Bonuses as well. That decision has proven correct as in 3 starts she has won 2 BOBS Bonuses already.

We expected that NOTIONS would commence her racing career for Dynamic Syndications approximately 6-8 weeks after we purchased her, once Richard Freedman had the opportunity to see how she went under saddle, and we had given her a few easy days to settle into the Rosehill lifestyle and get over her trip south.

That’s how it panned out, as we raced the filly seven weeks to the day after we purchased her, and she came out and recorded an awe-inspiring win on her debut for her new ownership team.


NOTIONS wins at Nowra

Then she went head-to-head with the promising 4yo mare Daralina Belle going down by a neck with 5 lengths back to third. That 4yo mare has made it 3 starts = 3 Wins.

Our first up win was over 1200m on a Heavy 9 which the short distance and heavy surface didn’t suit her, but she won eased down by 2.5 lengths.

Then we started her over 1400m as we continued to build the foundation fitness. This was awesome considering she carried 0.5kg over her allotted weight which for a 3yo filly against older horses does hurt. This was when she narrowly went down to undefeated 4yo mare Daralina Belle.

Then at Hawkesbury her win was really encouraging.

Firstly, she was the only 3yo filly in the field with the big street corner tip for the 3yo colt Sea Treasure who could only manage fourth spot with James McDonald as its pilot.

NOTIONS had drawn barrier 1, and with the astute Rachel King on board, we asked Rachel to be positive and use the gate to hold your position, as we wanted to push up to make the speed map leader work hard to cross us, and then take the sit one back and help her relax in the run saving energy.

The moment the gates clanged back, the speed map panned out as expected and Rachel did her role to perfection, forcing the leader to work hard using vital petrol to get there. Rachel was able to get NOTIONS to relax, and the dynamic duo tracked the speed until balancing into the straight.

The leader kicked strongly putting a 2-length margin on NOTIONS, with the field spread across the track attacking for the lead.

Then at the 200m NOTIONS moved up to a half-length off the leader, but Rachel reported post-race she was still green and started to stargaze, but NOTIONS did her best work over the final 50m to hit the line hard to dive at the winner in the shadows of the post, and when the camera flashed she was in front.

Impressively the work she did past the post showed she was still full of running.


Rachel King & Notions return to the winner's stall

Rachel King said post-race:



“Really happy with her today, I was able to get her into a really good spot behind the leader, she really did take a while to flatten out up the straight, she’s a bit green, she’s still a bit new about really letting down, she’s got more there, she was having a good look at the enclosure and things like that, but as soon as we got passed it, she actually went to the line really nicely.

“So hopefully that will give her a good bit of confidence today, and she will keep going on from here.”

NOTIONS was being tested in that event to determine if she was up to a stronger challenge next start.

There is no coincidence that NOTIONS had been offered the same style of race programming as we followed last year with LOVE TAP which saw him progress through to win the Gloaming Stakes over 1800m for 3yo’s and the way she hit the line at each of her three race starts for us, and especially over a mile at Hawkesbury, then the Gloaming is a worthy target.

Our Team are under no illusions of the difficulty of the assignment that NOTIONS is facing.

This is an event that has been dominated by the colts.

Further, she has come a long way in a short time, from a Maiden country win to a class 1 provincial win and now she heads straight to Gr3 company.

Whatever she does this preparation we are aware she will be so much bigger and stronger next time through the system to aim at the autumn races.

In the Gloaming she is taking on some proven high class colts and geldings, however connections are living the dream with a fit, healthy filly with obvious ability and a pedigree that says she gets the trip. Now its up to NOTIONS who is currently a $16 quote.