Clarry Conners is adamant there is strength in his team of two-year-olds despite an absence of runners in Sydney’s early-season juvenile races.
“I’ve had some nice babies that have trialled and I’ve just wanted to give them time. They’ve nearly all been shinsore or had some other niggling problem,” Conners said.
“I don’t know if they’re softer horses nowadays.”
One youngster that is resilient is Aegean Sea, a daughter of Beneteau, the Arrowfield stallion which will have only two crops of foals go the races after his death in January, 2013.
Aegean Sea will be Conners’ first juvenile runner in Sydney this season when she makes her debut in Saturday’s Surf Meets The Turf Plate (1000m) at Randwick.
Second pick in early markets behind Godolphin filly Italy, Aegean Sea scored a smart win at her most recent barrier trial when she raced on the speed.
Surprisingly, the filly is a recent addition to Victory Lodge and has made it to the races in her first preparation.
“She came to me late, she wasn’t in my first batch of horses so this is her first real bout in the stables,” Conners said.
“She’s come a long way.”
Beneteau, who was placed in the 2010 Blue Diamond Stakes, has already produced Maribyrnong Plate winner Prompt Return.
The Randwick race has been reduced to 10 starters with the scratching of $1.3 million yearling Grand Cross.
