Well-bred Aprilia bounces back

Well-related two-year-old filly Aprilia turned her form around at Matamata on Wednesday after a below expectation debut performance on the Cambridge synthetic when beaten into third as an odds-on favourite.

The filly jumped well to sit outside the leader in the Tokoroa Cosmopolitan 2YO (1200m) and kicked strongly in the run home to score under the urgings of Kozzi Asano, defeating well-supported Te Akau pair Fiore Di Campo and The Princie One.

Aprilia is a half-sister by U S Navy Flag to the Gr.1 Diamond Stakes (1200m) and Karaka Million (1200m) winner and sire Vespa, and trainer Andrew Forsman will now be looking at black-type options for her.

“She has always shown a fair bit and we were at a loss as to what happened at her first start so it was nice to see her bounce back,” he said.

“We thought she would be pretty hard to beat on debut and she had trialled up pretty well on the synthetic, but she didn’t really race up to it,” Forsman said.

“We took her to a trial at Avondale on the grass and got her back to the races hoping she would show that better form.”

Raced by Brown Thoroughbreds Ltd and Lib Petagna’s JML Bloodstock, Aprilia was a $72,500 purchase as a yearling from the Valachi Downs dispersal sale on gavelhouse plus.

Aprillia wasn’t the only juvenile winner to carry Lib Petagna’s apple green and navy blue sash silks to victory on Wednesday, with Savabeel colt Ravello making a winning debut for John O’Shea over 1400m at Warwick Farm.

The colt, who is raced in partnership with Greg Clarke and Little Avondale Stud’s Sam Williams, was a $425,000 yearling purchase by Bruce Perry from Cambridge Stud’s Karaka 2022 Book 1 draft.

Bred by Max Whitby and out of the American stakes placed mare Cover Charge, Ravello holds a nomination for the Gr.1 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 1.

 

Virtuous Circle to Australian Cup

Classy three-year-old Virtuous Circle will bypass this weekend's racing and head straight to the Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington.

Trainer Liam Howley confirmed the news on Wednesday morning after mulling his options earlier this week.

The son of Almanzor was set to have his third run of his current preparation this weekend in either the Gr.2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m) at The Valley or in the Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) in Sydney.

But Howley has instead changed plans and will head directly to next Saturday's Australian Cup, where he will take on older horses at weight-for-age.

"We’re thrilled with how Virtuous Circle has come through his Guineas run - so much so that he will bypass this weekend and head to the Australian Cup next," Howley said.

 

Mr Maestro side-lined

Injury has halted the autumn campaign of dual stakes winning three-year-old Mr Maestro.

He had galloped well at The Valley on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s Gr.2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m), but a tendon issue was found on Wednesday morning.

“He had a bit of thickening there and we scanned it. It’s not a major but enough to suggest we don’t push on and risk further damage,” trainer Andrew Forsman said.

“He should be okay longer term and he’ll probably stay in Melbourne to do his rehab and then go back to Macedon.”

The son of Savabeel won the Gr.3 Caulfield Classic (2000m) and the Listed Super Impose Stakes (1800m) in the spring before he ran fourth in the Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m) and had been on a Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) path before going amiss.

 

Break for Ulanova

Connections of high-class two-year-old Ulanova will look forward to next season, with news that the Stephen Marsh-trained Group Three winner has gone for a break.

Runner-up in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) behind Tokyo Tycoon, the daughter of Santos has won two of her six starts at two, including the Gr.3 Taranaki 2YO Classic (1200m).

Ulanova was bred by Ancroft Stud and sold through Kilgravin Lodge’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales to expatriate New Zealand agent Michael Wallace for $150,000.

Wallace’s Lexington-based Telluride Agency races the filly with his brother David and American client Kuldeep Singh Rajput's Gandharvi Racing.

“She showed up every start as a two-year-old for her trainer,” Michael Wallace said. “Onwards and upwards towards the spring sprints.”