FIORENTE AND FROSTED FIRE UP AT CAULFIELD

South Australian trainer Travis Doudle is likely to target some more of Victoria’s country cups after Not Usual Glorious, the son of Widden Stud stallion Fiorente, carried out a successful raid at Caulfield on Saturday with victory over 1700m.

The five-year-old gelding went into the Melbourne metropolitan race after winning the Apsley Cup (2000m) at Casterton last month when he scored by three lengths.

His margin at Caulfield was significantly shorter when he won by half a neck from $3.20 favourite Lyrical Lad, but the first prize money was a lot more at Caulfield with $71,500 compared to $27,500 at Casterton.

Not Usual Glorious had a different start to his racing career. He was bred by Willaroon Thoroughbreds Sally Watkins, out of her mare Temper Tantrum, and was sold for $32,000 at the 2018 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

Feng Bloodstock originally bought the yearling and sent it to New Zealand where he raced for trainer Shane Crawford who got three wins from nine starts with the gelding which was then placed on the market and purchased by Doudle for $65,000.

A last-start winner in New Zealand over 2000m, Not Usual Glorious then won his next three in Adelaide for Doudle.
Doudle had originally hoped that Not Usual Glorious would stretch to 3200m like his Melbourne Cup-winning sire, but now concedes he is best suited to trips up to 2000m.

“I am just going to let the dust settle on the weekend and there are a couple of races coming up for him in about three weeks back in Victoria,” he said.

“There are a couple of races at Moonee Valley that look okay and he might go back over and have a crack.

“We might freshen him into some country cups as well and he has already won a country cup with the Apsley Cup and I think those sort of races suit him for sure.”

Doudle said at this stage he couldn’t see the gelding going much past 2000m and would stick to races ranging from 1600m to 2000m.

He said there were plenty of country cups in his distance range.

“There was $70,000 to the winner on Saturday and it’s really good,” Doudle said.

“If these tracks stay wet for a little while, we’ll have a bit more fun with him and hopefully right into the spring.”

Doudle, who has 25 in work at Morphettville, said Not Usual Glorious was the only one by Fiorente in his stable and he was a lovely horse that was easy to train and a pleasure to have.

Not Usual Glorious’ dam, Temper Tantrum (Hold That Tiger x Disco Bickie) was later sold in foal to Brazen Beau for $95,000.

Darley Victoria’s American shuttle stallion Frosted (Tapit x Fast Cookie) produced another winner when Kooled, out of Dawned (One Cool Cat x Our Dawn Run), won his first city race (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

The gelding, now with third trainer Ben Brisbourne, started with Team Hawkes who thought so highly of the then colt that he raced in the Group 2 Sires’ Produce last year (1400m) at Flemington where he started the $4.60 favourite but finished ninth.

He won at his next as the $1.90 favourite in a 1200m Gosford maiden. Team Hawkes gave him one more run but he was unplaced at Sandown.

After two poor trials for Wyong trainer Kristen Buchanan, Kooled was gelded and then had an easy victory in a Benalla maiden as the $3.60 favourite.

Brisbourne said he became the third trainer when it was decided that Kooled raced better with the Melbourne way of going.

“He is a lovely horse,” he said.

“He has been in and around that mark all prep really and on the softer ground he seems to excel and can really quicken up off it which is nice.”

Brisbourne said Kooled is the first horse by Frosted he has trained.

“I wouldn’t mind a few more if they can win a city race like that,” he said.

He said the fact Kooled had already had three trainers was no fault of the horse.

“The Hawkes thought enough of him to race him in a Sires’ Produce and then he was moved to a smaller trainer for a bit of one-on-one time,” he said.

“He just didn’t like the Sydney way of going so Kristen Buchanan sent him down to me just to have a jump out and see if he trained better that way around.

“He won that jump out nicely and then he went and won a class two a Benalla a week after that and then she said to the owners that she thinks the horse prefers to be in Victoria and there was no point in travelling him down every couple of weeks and you might as well leave him with Ben as he seems happy there.

“I am very grateful for her putting my name forward to the owners.

“He stayed with me and she got given another horse to replace him. Everyone was happy.”

Kooled was bred by Rob and Pam Crosby who also race the three-year-old. They also have a Frosted colt out of their winning mare Enjoy Elsie (Sepoy x Dawned).

And Brisbourne is “absolutely confident” that there are some more wins to come from his Frosted gelding.

“We will be back at Caulfield in two weeks for a 1200m similar race and see where he ends up,” he said.

“He is a nice horse and he has got his quirks but the girls here manage him very well and he goes good on soft ground and will probably get out in a trip a little bit more or we’ll try him anyway.”

Darley Victoria’s head of sales Andy Makiv said it had been a good weekend for Frosted with the talented Frigid (Fuchsia) also winning at Belmont for Perth’s leading owner/breeder Bob Peters.

He said Kooled certainly has the talent and it was great to see him win in a deep race on the weekend.

“I think the stallion can certainly impart a bit of talent onto them and in the end, he had a pretty good weekend,” Makiv said.

Godolphin filly Cloudy (Applegate) ran a narrow third at Caulfield for James Cummings.

“He had a Saturday double and nearly got three with Cloudy,” Makiv said.

Makiv said Frosted hit the road running with a spicy first crop with a bunch of horses led by Ingratiating and Cloudy .

“Things went a little bit quiet after that and he has got very good numbers coming through and he has got great Godolphin support coming through so we are pretty confident that he is a stallion that will burst out of the lull and do the job,’’ he said.

“He has got good Saturday class horses to back up those stakes horses with Kooled and Ice Pick Nick.

“I think there is a bit of depth about him and he can impart a bit of talent. Those second and third crops can be a bit smaller for those shuttle stallions like him but he has got some very big crops coming after that.”

Makiv said Frosted received good support not only from Godolphin, but from some of Australia’s best breeders.

Frosted served 103 mares in his first season at Darley and that dropped to 80 and then climbed to 105 in his third season.

He served 131 in 2020 and last year had his biggest book – 134.