$1.3 million purchase to debut at Geelong
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have been the star two-year-old stable of the season to date and will on Saturday unveil another seven-figure yearling at Geelong.
Snitzel colt Trunk, a $1.3 million Inglis Easter purchase, will debut in the $150,000 Geelong Diamond.
The 1100-metre event carries a ballot exemption from next month’s $2 million Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) and while Bott said Trunk had not been screwed down in an attempt to grab the golden ticket, he could be on a path to the Blue Diamond.
“He’s a quality colt, not necessarily down here looking for the qualifying race, but I think this looks a good spot to kick him off in,” Bott told RSN927.
“Naturally, if he’s good enough he can head towards the Diamond and qualify himself through that path.”
Trunk, who will carry the Yulong green and white, is out of the O’Reilly mare Acquired, who is also the dam of dual Group 2 winner Splintex.
Trunk has drawn barrier five in the Geelong Diamond, which is down to a field of 10 first starters after the scratching of Tarpaulin, and is battling it out for favouritism with Phillip Stokes’ Cosmic Force colt Stay Focused.
Bott is respectful of the opposition but heads to Geelong confident with Trunk having trialled well against another classy Yulong-owned two-year-old, Straight Charge.
“He’s trialled very nicely behind Straight Charge on both occasions and he looked very good in two sharp trials there,” Bott said.
“He seems to have settled in nicely to Melbourne, he galloped down there and did everything right and handle that way of going nicely.”
Trunk will be ridden by Jye McNeil in the Geelong Diamond.
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