Waiting game over for Freedman with Libertini’s little brother

When you are the brother to a star sprinter there’s always expectation, and that will be the case when Hawaii Five Oh makes his debut at Wyong on Sunday.

Trainer Michael Freedman has been patient with the younger sibling to Libertini. Hawaii Five Oh has shown the same aversion to genuine wet tracks as his sister, so Freedman is hoping the Agency Plate (1200m) is run on an improving surface.

The I Am Invincible colt out of Aloha was set to kick off his career in the late autumn but the relentless rain put paid to that.

“He’s a very big horse that’s just taken a bit of time to mature into his frame,” Freedman said. “He was ready to run through the winter, but he’s shown a real disliking for anything in the genuine wet range.

“You could tell in his trackwork and trials that he wasn’t nearly as comfortable in genuine soft ground as he is on top of the ground. It was pointless hanging around waiting for a dry track, and we sent him out for another month.”

Hawaii Five Oh showed his readiness for a race-day test with an impressive trial win at Rosehill on August 12 when jockey Nash Rawiller, who heads to Wyong for just the one ride, allowed him to win under his own steam.

“I think he is a really nice horse in the making,” Freedman said.
“There are a couple in there that have race experience, and that plays an important part, but from barrier one I’d be leaving it to Nash to find a nice spot.

“If he can run up to how he has been trialling he should run well.”