Godolphin's head Australian trainer John O'Shea had difficulty finding enough superlatives to describe the performance of the lightly-raced filly Asinara after a stunning victory that kept the new year winners rolling in for the stable at Rosehill on Saturday, January 2.
Godolphin's head Australian trainer John O'Shea had difficulty finding enough superlatives to describe the performance of the lightly-raced filly Asinara after a stunning victory that kept the new year winners rolling in for the stable at Rosehill on Saturday, January 2.
Asinara (John O'Shea/James McDonald) made it two wins from as many starts in the Cellarbrations Handicap, confirming herself as an Autumn Stakes-race candidate.
"We are blessed to have her. She's a very special filly," O'Shea said.
"I don't know how good today's opposition was, but she is very good."
On a weekend that produced three city winners in Sydney for Godolphin, Asinara clearly stood out as the latest future star to be unveiled by the stable in Australia this season.
O'Shea said the daughter of Teofilo would step up in distance from the 1350m of Saturday's race.
"She is bred to run a mile-and-a-quarter (2000m) or even a bit further," he said.
"She is very brilliant, so I'm not sure yet about races like the (Group One) Australian Oaks.
"We've got a couple of genuine Oaks fillies already that handle wet ground and I think if you're going to set a horse for the Sydney Autumn, you need to be prepared for a wet track.
Asinara settled among the tailenders, giving away a big lead to the favourite Lucky Fish but once into the clear at the 350m, she quickly made up her ground and strolled away to win by a length.
Jockey James McDonald praised the filly with similar enthusiasm to the trainer.
"She has a ton of class, a great stride and extraordinary ability," McDonald said.
"There doesn't seem any doubt that she has some very good races ahead of her."
Asinara's win followed those the previous day of Old North and Raitza, both in non-graded races at Randwick in Sydney.
With his win in the All Too Hard Maiden Plate, Old North, a colt by Lonhro, earned the distinction of becoming Godolphin's first winner anywhere in the world in 2016.
