Connections of beautifully bred filly Scintillation are in two-minds about whether to run her from a wide draw in the Lonhro Plate or wait for a softer midweek assignment.
By super sire I Am Invincible out of multiple stakes winner Minhaaj, the youngster has twice trialled nicely in preparation for her debut, although it might be delayed a few days after she drew gate 13 of 13 in Saturday’s Listed race.
“I’m not sure if she will run yet. There are a couple of options next week we want to think about,” co-trained Tom Charlton said.
“She’s a very sharp filly. Not the biggest but very strong and her trials have been sharp so we will look for her running well whenever she does.”
Scintillation’s dam won her first two starts as a two-year-old, including the Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, adding to her black type haul when transferring to John O’Shea as an older horse.
Charlton was working for his now-training partner at the time and said Scintillation wasn’t unlike her mum.
“Minhaaj probably had a little bit more size, but she has thrown a very good first foal,” he said.
“There are a lot of similarities in the sense of their strength.
“We’d obviously love to achieve some black type for connections. She is a valuable proposition. We’re still learning about her, but her trials are indicative that she could do that.”
The stable is committed to kicking off the campaign of promising three-year-old Napoleonic in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) and while he meets a tough field, Charlton is keen to see how he measures up.
“Tempted is arguably the best 1200-metre three-year-old and she brings extremely good form, and Wodeton has good form and gets in very well at the weights getting two-and-a-half kilos off us,” he said.
“But we couldn’t be happier with our fellow. He is a really nice horse and I’m sure he will run very well.”
A field of eight has been accepted for the Eskimo Prince with Everest runner-up Tempted an odds-on favourite.
