Sometimes it’s the horse that nobody imagines anything of that does the things that nobody can imagine.
That’s certainly been the case for Richard Jolly with his emerging filly Out Of Square, who will attempt to stretch her record this campaign to five wins from six starts at Thomas Farms Racecourse Murray Bridge on Saturday.
Jolly is the first to admit that the daughter of Hellbent showed him little in her early days at his Morphettville yard.
After a winless first racing preparation, the three-year-old has been a revelation in 2025, with her only blemish coming when unplaced behind eventual Goodwood winner Reserve Bank in the Listed Redelva Stakes in April.
Jolly said the recent addition of blinkers have helped propel Out Of Square to even greater heights.
“We didn’t really have much of an opinion of her to start with,” Jolly said.
“She’s a very lazy trackworker, just does nothing on the track and it wasn’t until we raced her that we realised that she didn’t go too bad.
“She’s just got better and better.
“We ran her in the Redelva and she was a bit outclassed but I also think she needs the blinkers and we didn’t have them on her in that race.
“We freshened her up and put the blinkers on her after that, we ran her on Goodwood Day at Morphettville and she won, then she duly won again at Murray Bridge.”
Jolly said his confidence about Out Of Square’s chances in Saturday’s race, which is restricted to horses paid up for the state’s lucrative Racing Rewards SA breeding and racing incentive scheme, is the set weights and penalties conditions.
With a rating of 73, Out Of Square is the equal highest rated horse in the race but she will carry only 56.5kg and enjoys a positive weight swing on several horses she’s defeated in recent starts.
Out of Square is the clear $2.40 favourite to win again on Saturday.
“With the set weights and penalties conditions of the race, it’s a bit rude with how well she gets in really because she’s getting a five kilogram turnaround in her fabvour over horses she beat the other day,” he said.
“It really looks her race to win.”
Jolly, who trains in partnership with his daughter Chantelle, will saddle up a three-pronged attack in the 2YO Racing Rewards SA Plate, with Mostly For Show, Si Senora and Sicilian Princess.
He said Si Senora, a son of Yes Yes Yes who won his only start at Balaklava last month, is the strongest of the stable’s chances.
“All three are really nice horses and I think they can all win plenty of races going forward,” he said.
“On what we’ve seen so far, Si Senora is probably the one I would put on top.
“He’s really come from nowhere, he’s a nondescript type of horse that doesn’t do anything more than his ask but on raceday he was very good.
“We’ve trialled him again and kept him for this race.
“I think he went even better in the trial at Balaklava than when he won up there so he’s got the race fitness on his side.”
