Lee Freedman winning a big feature race!
Nothing new there … you might think … but there is always new ground to break and Freedman has Soothsayer poised to do just that as, should the Divine Prophet gelding take out the Magic Millions Three-Year-old Guineas, it would be Freedman’s first major success since opening his Gold Coast stable and stepping into the latest phase of his illustrious training career.
Soothsayer has certainly hit his straps in recent times.
A five-time winner from only ten starts, Soothsayer has reeled off a hat trick of wins in his last three starts, underlining his well being by landing those wins at three different tracks (Sunshine Coast, Eagle Farm and Doomben) over two different distances (1600m – twice and 1400m).
Boris Thornton partnered Soothsayer in all three of those wins.
“When I got on him Lee added blinkers to him,” said Thornton, talking about Soothsayer’s recent run of success, “and I think that helps him a lot.
“He is a very casual horse and it helped him focus.
“Once he got that first one off his back … he got confidence … and he took that confidence into the next one and he has been building from there.
“Just the way Lee has trained him in-between runs has played a big part in the way Soothsayer has been able to show his versatility. We’ve been able to go to the mile, back to 1400m then back to the mile and Soothsayer has taking it all in his stride.
“His maturity is there. His sharpness is there … and I think he is going to hold himself in real good stead come Saturday.
“Obviously. the barrier sucks (nineteen out of twenty … with emergencies still included), but look, I’ll find a way to overcome that. That’s my problem.
“It is an open race … a very tight affair as there are a lot of horses in it around the same sort of ability level in terms of races they have been running in.
“For example, Soothsayer ran second to Yellow Brick (the current race favourite) along the way and he has only got better since they last met.
“Yellow Brick is a worthy favourite, but Soothsayer is going very well … he is on his home track … and, I think, if he can get a decent run in transit, I’m very confident … particularly because of how well he has been racing and how much confidence the horse has himself … that he is not going to be far away.
“I’ve only really ridden for Lee since I’ve been in Queensland and Lee moved up here. I knew Lee in Melbourne and we crossed paths a few times, but I never rode for him there … so I’m really proud to be associated with the great trainer now.
“It would be awesome to get the job done!”
