Co-trainer Robert Price can’t take much credit for selecting Our Gold Hope as a yearling, but he will be happy if she can reward the judgement of her owners in the Vinery Stud Stakes.
The filly is raced by the Noble family, who also enjoyed success with two-time Group winner Jamaea, and he says they were the ones who picked out the daughter of Lope de Vega at the sales.
“To their credit, they purchased that filly with my back turned,” Price said.
“They were in conversation with an Irish girl who works at Newgate (Farm) and they took everything she said on board. They said to me, ‘have a quick look Rob, we’re going to try to buy her’.
“All I got was a glance.
“She had a bandage the size of a head on her back leg. It probably helped her because we had to treat the cut on her leg for a good six weeks afterwards and it brought her back to us – she is pretty wily.
“She’s everything you want in a good filly. She has got that bit of sass about her.”
Our Gold Hope has taken her connections on a promising journey so far.
After winning two of her first five starts, she finished runner-up to Queen Of Dragons in the Kembla Grange Classic (1600m), earning a chance in Saturday’s Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill.
She was beaten a length in her home track feature and if not for the errant whip of a rival jockey accidentally striking her twice across the nose, Price felt she would have finished closer.
“Watching from the grandstand, it looked like she was dying on her run, but she was actually wilting because of the two hits on the bridge of the nose,” Price said.
“The third one missed her because she ducked away from it, then she’s had the tenacity to pick herself back up and get going again.
“I don’t know whether she would have won, but she would have run the winner to a very close margin and that race, if you look at the history, normally produces something that goes well in the Vinery.”
Price is hoping that is Our Gold Hope, who has been specifically aimed at the Vinery Stud Stakes.
While an Oaks start isn’t out of the question, he says their focus has always been on Saturday.
“We weren’t expecting it to be such a strong Group One, but she lines up from a soft barrier and a spot of rain wouldn’t hurt her,” Price said.
“This is her goal but if all of a sudden she comes through this race and she gets the trip, she is nominated for the Oaks so it’s an option.”
