Rosehill Inside Mail: Brad Widdup-trained trio ready to fire on Saturday
The Hawkesbury horseman won the opener at Royal Randwick's – and Sydney's – final metropolitan race meeting on the season last Saturday with Nashville Jack.
Now it is up to stablemate Bella Khadijah to win the first Metropolitan race of the new season at Rosehill Gardens today.
'She is in good order and you'd like to think she is going to be competitive,'' Widdup said.
'She's carrying a little bit of weight here on Saturday but I'm happy with her.
'We've got the blinkers on her too so hopefully that does the trick. She seems to be a little bit sharper in them.
'She's not a big filly but she tries very hard.'
An $80,000 Inglis Classic purchase, the now winner of $125,175, counts a capital 'C' Champion, nay, a capital 'L' Legend in her extended family.
Bella Khadijah's sixth dam, Idle Words, was the mother of the great Aussie-turned-expat Shannon whose feats in America were extraordinary; he equalled the world record time for 1800m and 2000m within a week.
Bella Khadijah salutes in the Doomben opener! @ChesterJag @RoblRacing pic.twitter.com/HhTyqmp10S
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 27, 2024
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Widdup meanwhile is naturally eager for stable stalwart Phearson to get back into the winner's stall – not just for the money, but to restore his reputation which has slipped a little through no fault of his own.
'I maintained all the preparation the horse is going great,'' Widdup says.
'It doesn't look it on paper possibly but go through his barriers and he's probably been a little bit tardy away which hasn't helped him either.
'But his manners are a lot better in the run, he is doing things right.
'We kept him going, one more. one more, we were going to pull up but he has just been going so well.
'Geez, I would love to get him back in the winner's circle.'
The plunge lands!
Phearson closes out the day with a dominant display. @djgibbons22 in the saddle for @BWiddupRacing. pic.twitter.com/K3f3irilHM
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 27, 2023
• Ron Dufficy's $16 value bet for Rosehill Gardens on Saturday
Widdup's other runner at Rosehill on Saturday is Art's Alive, a Snitzel mare from the same lineage as Thousand Guineas / VRC Oaks winner Rom's Stiletto.
'Ideally I would love to get a sit wither her,'' Widdup says. 'She doesn't have to lead but she is such a good beginner.'
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BEST BET
Race 3 No.13 EVERLASTING STARS is owned by the Hall of Famer, former AJC Chairman and Banjo Patterson devotee RL (Bob) Charley. There is a big chance Mr Charley was trackside at Randwick the day this mare's third dam, Momentaire, won the Widden Stakes in 1988. There's less chance he was at the 'Randwick of the West', also known as Warren, to see his mare assert her authority over her rivals on the Heavy 8, just 10-days after her somewhat luckless 11th in a Rosehill Highway.
Everlasting Stars pulls away late to salute at Warren for @GoulburnTrainer! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/p5xNHdXe0w
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 15, 2025
• Freedmans targets fast start at Rosehill
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BEST VALUE
Race 2 No.7 CONVERGENT is trained by Jim and Greg Lee who of course had that unbelievably impressive winner last Saturday, namely Glorious Moments. The brothers have another very promising carnival prospect scheduled to contest the Midway in Convergent who was probably as good in defeat as he was when he won. He is bred to handle the wet being a grandson of Lonhro and out of a High Chaparral mare. The wide barrier might be an advantage even?
Convergent wins on debut for Jim & Greg Lee with @Reganbayliss in the saddle ðŸ'° @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/cjExQDsMw5
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 25, 2025
• Rosehill Turf Talk: Mitch's big throw at stumps on $151 shot
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EARLY QUADDIE
Race 3: 9,13
Race 4: 1,7,9,11
Race 5: 2,4,7,8
Race 6: 1,3,5
QUADDIE
Race 7: 7,11,13
Race 8: 2,7,8,9
Race 9: 4,5,7,11
Race 10: 4,5,7,8
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PRICE CHECK
Race 6 No.5 PHEARSON is a rather underrated horse. The Brad Widdup-trained son of Exosphere has won a Liverpool City Cup; now, there is a race with an honour roll above it's Group 3 status – for example (s), Toltrice, Ma Chiquita, Accomplice, Monopolize, and most recently, Think About It (2021 and 2023). Worth noting that Phearson's other stakes-win was the Festival Stakes at the same track and over the same distance as Saturday's assignment.
Phearson leads the whole way to take out the final race at Randwick! @BWiddupRacing pic.twitter.com/GyUBE8wcgF
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 2, 2024
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SHAYNO SAYS
Race 7 No.13 AGITA is a son of the Cox Plate winner Adelaide and for a time, looked like he might be a legitimate 'Derby horse'. At the end of the day, he just scraped into the last of the big ones, the Queensland Derby, where he finished fifth but all over 15-lengths from the winner! The point is, Agita wants 2000m now and more after that. He will be third-up on Saturday off two 1600m runs which were slightly better than they read on paper. Take note; his last win was on a Heavy 8.
Agita wins first up at Warwick Farm! @DPayneRacing | @keaganlatham | @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/A6N5rdFbwX
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 8, 2025
Race 4 No.7 TUILERIES has won two of her five starts but any one of those three losses was borderline 'run of the race'. Consider her performance in the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas. It was just her fourth career starts, her first one away from NSW, and she drew 18 of 18, 14th at the 400m, yet got within three and a half of the winner. Had similarly major excuses first-up, all of it 'barrier-driven'. Drawn wide-ish again but might not be such a disadvantage this time.
Tuileries bulldozes home and wins in dominant fashion at Randwick for @SnowdenRacing1! ðŸ'¥ pic.twitter.com/myBpEruiAQ
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 26, 2024
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TRIAL POINTERS
Race 5 No.7 CONCORDIA WIND was the third highest priced yearling sold at the 2023 HTBA Yearling sale. She made $100,000 to the bid of Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster when truly her pedigree warranted double or triple the price. For the record, she is a granddaughter of Stella Cadente, thus a direct descendant of the blue-hen mare, Eau D'Etoile. As for Concordia Wind, she is first-up on the weekend, scratched from one race to run in this one, off a couple of typical unhurried 'Waller trials.'
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Australia's Alexandria Perkins set a personal best time to win silver in the women's 50m butterfly, which was won by American Gretchen Walsh. Walsh won in 24.83 seconds, almost half a second ahead of Perkins. Another Australian, Lily Price, came sixth. America is on top of the swimming medal table with eight golds and 26 medals overall. Australia is in second with seven golds, four silvers and six bronze medals.
News.com.au
an hour ago
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