Racing: Valuable filly foal's timely arrival

Jon Snow wins the Australian Derby earlier this year. He will resume in Saturday's rich Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo / Bradley Photography

A well-related recent arrival by Iffraaj could be worth a whole lot more in the coming weeks.

The filly was foaled at Attunga Stud in the Hunter Valley just days before the arrival in Melbourne on Saturday of her older Group 1 Australian Derby-winning brother Jon Snow.

The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained four-year-old will open his campaign on Saturday in the A$1 million ($1.38m) Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.

Any success that may come the way of Jon Snow, who has the Group 1 Caulfield Cup as his primary objective, this spring will significantly impact on his sibling's value.

"We'll see, but whatever happens this filly is worth an awful lot," said Highview Stud's Brent Gillovic. "It's a beautiful female family."

He purchased the youngster's dam Orinda on behalf of his business partner Peter Yip, of the Hong Kong Breeders' Club.

"We got blown out of the water on a few mares for serious money and I was talking to [bloodstock agent] Michael Otto, who said Orinda could be bought," Gillovic said.

"I jumped in the car and went to see her. I liked what I saw and purchased her. Peter puts a lot of money into the New Zealand industry so good on him, it's a cracking foal."

A daughter of O'Reilly, Orinda will spend the foreseeable future at Attunga.

"She was bought specifically to go to Snitzel, Peter's had a share in the stallion right from the outset," Gillovic said.

"The mare will visit him sometime in September. The Iffraaj foal will at this stage come home after she's weaned and Peter has indicated that he might keep her to race."

Meanwhile, John Morell is preparing for two trips to the Hawke's Bay carnival, but he has a back-up plan for Florence Jean should conditions not fall in his promising filly's favour.

The Te Rapa trainer has the Group 3 Hawke's Bay Breeders' Gold Trail Stakes on September 23 on the Pins three-year-old's programme and he is keen to give her a lead-up outing this Saturday.

"We'll probably go down for the El Roca Sprint and if she could run a place that would be great to give her a bit of black type," Morell said.

"She will be up against some good colts, but it will give us a line on her. She hasn't beaten too much just yet.

"But just in case the track's wet or if she drew too wide I'll nominate her for the three-year-old race over a 1000m at Ruakaka on the same day."

Florence Jean has already showed her liking for the northern track with a debut win there in January before she finished sixth in the Group 2 Matamata Breeders' Stakes after a chequered run.

Following a break, the filly returned to Ruakaka for a six-length victory romp in July.

"She was a lot more forward last time there than I thought she was," Morell said.

"She took a few days to get over that though, it was a harder gallop than I wanted but she's fine now."

Morell has no longer-term plans for Florence Jean at this stage, but he is keen to test her over more ground.

"I'm hoping that she will get a mile [1600m]," he said.

"While she's very professional, she still needs to be educated to settle. In those better fillies' races she'll need to be able to take a sit and get the last run at them."

- NZ Racing Desk