Will Freedman is hoping well-bred colt Navy Blood can continue to progress through the grades after landing his second win in four starts at Gosford.
By Merchant Navy, the three-year-old is out of Platelet, who captured Adelaide’s Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes–The Goodwood double in 2013.
After breaking his maiden at Newcastle in August, Navy Blood had a tough run when midfield first-up at Muswellbrook, but he bounced back on Wednesday with a strong win in the Midway Class 1 Handicap (1200m).
“He really put them away at the top of the straight,” co-trainer Will Freedman said.
“He is still very green, he needed to pick up the bit at about the 600 (metres) and he picked it up nicely, then probably got tired a bit late.
“But he’d only had the one trial coming off that first-up run, which on paper probably read a bit worse than it was. He covered a lot of ground and ran a last 600 (metre sectional) that was pretty competitive for the race.”
Ridden by Keagan Latham at Gosford, Navy Blood ($8.50) hit the front at the top of the straight and held on by a half-length over the fast-finishing Riva D’Amor ($11) with Monte Supreme ($21) best of the rest, another 2-3/4 lengths in arrears.
Freedman hopes the victory can springboard Navy Blood towards realising the potential he has shown at home.
“We’ve always had a bit of an opinion of him. He is very well bred and usually if they get on a bit of a roll, that breeding kicks in and they can keep going on with it,” Freedman said.
“I think he’s probably going to get better over a little bit further, but he’s done the job today.”
Earlier on the program, apprentice Benjamin Osmond gave boss Kris Lees the second leg of an early two-state double when he guided consistent mare Memoria to victory less than twenty minutes after the success of stablemate Surreal I Am at Doomben.
Osmond had partnered Memoria to a win at Tamworth earlier in the year and Lees’ stable representative Danny Greer said that knowledge of the quirky four-year-old was crucial.
“Ben knows her quite well, he does a bit of work on her back at home and he’s also won on her before, which helps coming here,” Greer said.
“No doubt she will take plenty of improvement from that.”
Memoria ($3.60) scored by a short neck over O’Tycoon ($2.90 fav) with Opito Ballerina ($7.50) another nose back in a competitive finish.
