John O’Shea has outlined spring carnival ambitions for two-year-old Koshu after she converted barrier trial promise into race day success with an outstanding debut performance.
A flashy winner of her only trial appearance earlier this month, Koshu produced a brilliant turn of foot to demolish her rivals and reinforce O’Shea’s opinion that he has a smart filly on his hands.
“To come here and do that off one 740 (metre barrier trial) is testament to her quality,” O’Shea said.
“It’s a good time of year to have a nice horse in.
“You get a chance to put them back out and regroup for the spring and we will do that with her.”
Koshu is by Satono Aladdin, a Group 1-winning son of Deep Impact who stands at Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand, and she is well related being a half-sister to Group 1 winners Loire and A Touch Of Ruby.
Sent out a $2.30 favourite for Wednesday’s Hylands Race Colours Handicap (1100m), Koshu was given time to find her feet by James Mcdonald but once she balanced for home, she zoomed down the outside and had the race in the bag in a matter of bounds.
She scored by 3-1/4 lengths over Silentsar ($26) with Secret Revolution ($7.50) an unlucky third after being held up for clear running for much of the straight.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott also produced a talented youngster in Baroque Road, who took out the TAB Handicap (1100m) by a similar margin.
He mustered speed to lead for Nash Rawiller and despite wandering about in the straight, proved a class above his rivals.
Bott said the two-year-old had shown above-average ability from the outset, but a gelding procedure had helped him put his mind on racing.
“He is still learning and wanted to run about there late, so the win had plenty of merit about it,” Bott said.
“When he becomes a bit more seasoned and puts it all into place, I think we will see a bit more upside.”
