The sudden loss of Riff Rocket was a timely reminder of how you can never take things for granted when it comes to all things racing.
So says prominent owner Debbie Kepitis, who is grateful that Lindermann is back from injury and lining up in the listed $2million Five Diamonds (1800m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Lindermann wins with Joao Moreira in the saddle Spring Champion Stakes day.Credit: Getty Images
Kepitis has enjoyed something every other owner is unlikely to experience in their lifetime – racing a champion like Winx. But she rides the racing rollercoaster like every other owner and treats her horses like their own children.
Riff Rocket was a three-time group 1 winner and was being set for the spring majors when he died in September following complications after colic surgery. There was brief talk that he was being groomed for the Melbourne Cup, and potentially via a Cox Plate.
Kepitis said there were mixed emotions when watching Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup, but it was lovely to see a vale to Riff Rocket in the Derby Day race program last Saturday at Flemington.
Not one to dwell on what could have been, Kepitis said she could never take things for granted. Which brings us to tomorrow and Lindermann and how the five-year-old was lucky his own career did not end in the autumn.
“You have to cherish every moment,” Kepitis said. “Lindermann is such a gorgeous horse we bred ourselves. He’s by Lonhro, out of a mare Self Esteem who we gave to trainer Peter Snowden when he first branched out on his own, and it would mean the world to us if he can keep winning.
“He was our first group 1 winner in the Woppitt [Bloodstock] silks. And those silks mean a lot. They were designed by my three daughters [Alinta, Lara and Talia] in 2007, and they are still very much involved in this group with myself and [husband] Paul.
“It was heart-breaking when Lindermann hurt himself in the autumn and had to be rehabbed.
“He was meant to run in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but [trainer] Chris Waller got him scanned before the race, and they discovered an issue with his leg.
“It was lucky they discovered something; he could have gone out and run and then broken down.
“So many people put so much work into him to get back to the races. It was great to get him backto the track, and to see him win onSaturday would be absolutely wonderful.
“He would have taken so much confidence out of his last win, and he needs a confident and strong rider on his back, which is what Joao [Moreira] is.”
Woppitt Bloodstock’s colours are purple and white with black seams. Kepitis is still involved with the family’s Ingham racing, which features the famous cerise silks, which will be carried by Fangirl in the group 1 Champions Mile at Flemington tomorrow.
Kepitis, however, will ditch Flemington for the chance to attend Rosehill and watch Lindermann go around.
Lindermann, who was backed to win the Craven Plate last start but loves racing back at his Rosehill home track, could yet be part of the Waller shipment that heads to Perth for the summer racing carnival, along with Democracy Manifest, which could not get a clear crack at his stablemate last start.
As for Winx, Kepitis said the mighty mare was due to give birth to her third foal any day.
She was served by Snitzel. Winx’s first foal, by I am Invincible, was a stillborn, but her second foal, a Pierro filly, is doing well.
Lindermann is $9 in early markets for the Five Diamonds behind Territory Express ($4.80), Yellow Brick, Attrition ($8) and Iknowastar ($8.50).
North England sizzles
Even jockey Tim Clark was surprised by the time North England ran when he appeared to cruise in a trial win ahead of Saturday’s $1million Golden Gift (1100m).
North England was well fancied on debut in the Breeders Plate and did not disappoint when leading before tiring the last 50m to run third behind King Kirk.
North England (left) gets run down in the shadows of the post in the Breeders Plate.Credit: Getty Images
The short break has done him wonders as he returned to run a sizzling 45.84 seconds over the 800m at Hawkesbury a couple of weeks ago. It was half a second quicker than the other trials over the same distance that morning, which in racing terms is the equivalent of about three lengths.
“He seemed to do it so comfortably the other day, and he ran good time, even though he felt like he had more to offer,” Clark said.
“He ran good time in his trial before the Breeders Plate as well. He’s a colt who has really good ability. There were high expectations in the Breeders, and he was only narrowly beaten.
“He didn’t let anyone down with the performance he put in.
“Heading into Saturday, it’s such a big advantage to have the experience of a race start.”
Clark has been on the back of a few of his Golden Gift rivals, including debut winner Icarian Dream for Ciaron Maher and North England stablemate Chicama in both his trials.
Of the five winners of the Golden Gift, four have gone on to run in the Golden Slipper in the autumn including Shangri La Express (2023), Barber (2022), Sejardan (2021) and Dame Giselle (2019). The 2020 winner, Sneaky Five, was given a lengthy spell the following autumn.
Clark also hops aboard Major Beel in the $$2 million feature Five Diamonds with the horse creating headlines for upsetting the owner of Pride Of Jenni in the King Charles III Stakes last start.
Major Beel started $101 and provided some nuisance value in the early stages, with Tony Ottobre later asking stewards if “the tactics were designed to particularly impede the chances of Pride Of Jenni?” Major Beel weakened to finish second last.
“He’s had a great preparation, and although he’s had a few hard runs, it doesn’t seem to have affected him at all. He still looks fantastic and seems to be thriving,” Clark said. “Stepping up to 1800m will assist him, and he should get a nice run up on the speed.
“He’s just an honest horse. He’s had a bit of time between runs, and because he is a fit horse, he hasn’t had to do much since that race.
“What he has done has been at to the standard he was at before that race, and when he ran good races in the Seven Stakes and Epsom.”
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