Maurice colt lights up Randwick 2YO Trials
Maurice has now had 67 2YO runners in Australia for 18 winners and 10 stakes performers including Azula and Namesake. (PHOTO: Bronwen Healy)
It wasn’t too surprising to see an Arrowfield Inglis Classic graduate from a stable renowned for brilliant 2YOs win Heat 1 of the Inglis Official 2YO Trials held at Randwick this morning.
What may have surprised some observers was that the winner is a second-crop son of Maurice, who did win twice at two, but blossomed as a 4YO to claim three of his six Group 1 victories in Japan & Hong Kong.
At stud however, Maurice has compiled 48 2YO winners, eight of them from his first Australian crop including Mazu, Balmaurice & Maurice’s Medad among six stakes performers.
Still six days away from his actual second birthday, the Waterhouse & Bott-trained colt Kibou jumped quickly to take up the early lead. He raced keenly until after the turn, then extended sweetly for jockey Regan Bayliss to score by 3.3 lengths, cutting out the last 600 metres in 33.71.
Maurice colt Kibou, trained by @GaiWaterhouse1 & Adrian Bott, takes out the first 2yo trial at @royalrandwick over stablemate Ferrari Man (by Menari) with Dirty Merchant (by Merchant Navy) in third. @tabcomau pic.twitter.com/hokR0jWwdp
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) September 19, 2021
Purchased for $170,000 by his trainers and Bruce Slade’s Kestrel Thoroughbreds, Kibou is the fourth foal of Fortiche (by Distorted Humor’s son Any Given Saturday), a winning half-sister of the classy Group-winning sprinter Mic Mac.
Adrian Bott confirmed after the trial that Kibou – the word is Japanese for “hope” – will head to the Arrowfield Breeders’ Plate G3 on 2 October.
Kibou’s unraced 3YO full sister Susanne Joy is in the Leon & Troy Corstens stable at Geelong, while Fortiche has a yearling colt by Mikki Isle and foals to Showtime this Spring.
Currently second only to Deep Impact on Japan’s 3YO Sires’ table, Maurice has also left 8 Japanese juvenile winners this year. They include the Northern Farm filly En Croix who won her Nakayama debut over 1600 metres by 2.5 lengths on Sunday.
In Australia, Maurice has been represented by eight 3YO winners this season and holds third spot on the 2nd Season Sires’ list.
