Tim Clark sees great potential in By Choice's return
Despite Tulloch Lodge's usual high benchmarks, their two-year-old season has been somewhat subdued. Nevertheless, their primary stable jockey, Tim Clark, anticipates that the current crop of youngsters will more than make up for lost ground as they transition to three-year-old racing.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have seen 14 juvenile winners from 92 runners during the 2025-26 racing term, a dip from the 20 winners from 119 starters in the 2024-25 season. This follows consecutive peak seasons where they trained 35 (2023-24) and 37 (2022-23) two-year-old winners.
With the first stakes event for three-year-olds of the new season, The Rosebud (1100m), just six weeks away, many of this season's juveniles are already gearing up for their seasonal comebacks. Clark is optimistic about the future prospects of Tulloch Lodge.
"The Rosebud and San Domenico Stakes, they come up pretty quickly, so those two-year-olds rising three are starting to roll back in," Clark disclosed. "There are some nice horses among them."
When asked to identify a horse that had particularly caught his eye since returning, Clark highlighted the filly By Choice. After winning on debut at Randwick in December, the Written Tycoon filly secured placings in the Magic Millions Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast, as well as in a pair of Golden Slipper lead-up races.
Clark indicates that she has matured considerably and expects her to be a strong contender in the early three-year-old races. "I haven't been on too many of them yet, but By Choice raced through a Magic Millions and lined up in the Slipper lead-ups. Physically, she looks to have really strengthened and come back in good order," Clark remarked. "The Princess Series races might suit her. She gives the impression she will run a strong mile, so she is definitely one that physically looks like she has made good improvement."
The inaugural Princess Series, a four-race campaign, begins with the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) on August 22 and concludes with the prestigious Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on October 3. By Choice is a name to watch in these upcoming events.
Check out the latest racing odds for the Princess Series at various online bookmakers.
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