Racing
Yulong youngster kickstarts campaign with Grand win
The Peter Snowden-trained Grand Prairie is showing the makings of developing into a handy colt.
Yulong-owned colt Grand Prairie remains a work in progress but trainer Peter Snowden is optimistic he has a bright future after breaking his maiden on Randwick's Kensington track.
The youngster was put away after kicking off his career with two encouraging runs in March and returned a winner in the TAB Plate (1100m) on Wednesday despite doing a few things wrong.
"He's still learning. He still had a look around at the other horses and when he got to the front he stargazed a bit," Snowden said.
"That's good because he's still winning while doing that, so you know with improvement and the more race experience he gets, the better he is going to be.
"He's a nice horse going forward."
Tom Sherry settled Grand Prairie ($6) on the fence behind the leader and the two-year-old shouldered clear halfway up the straight before surging to the front and holding off the fast-finishing Pictor ($31) by a half-head with Ninja ($2.10 fav) another 1-1/2 lengths away third.
Snowden is yet to map out a program for the winner but says there are a plethora of options in the coming weeks.
"I just wanted to see how he came back this time," he said.
"He's at the right time of year. He's ready to launch. There are a lot of good races coming up.
"It's up to him whether he keeps stepping up but he's got a great pedigree out of a very good mare and it's a pleasure to have a Yulong horse that's going well."
By Written Tycoon, Grand Prairie is out of dual Group 1 winner Viddora, who Yulong purchased for $2.55 million in 2020.
Godolphin also produced an impressive Kensington winner in Custom, the filly showing a sharp turn of foot to comfortably account for her rivals in the Drinkwise Plate (1100m).
Stable representative Darren Beadman wasn't sure which yard the youngster would be bound for when Godolphin dispersed its stock among a handful of public trainers on August 1 but said Custom had scope to keep progressing.
"It was a very soft win today. Ears pricked and she did it with a lot of confidence. There are bigger fish for her to fry," Beadman said.
"I wouldn't say she is right up there with the 'Tempteds', but fillies like this, it's surprising what they can do in another six months' time as autumn three-year-olds."
Tempted was Godolphin's star juvenile this season, winning the Reisling and Percy Sykes Stakes and finishing third in the Golden Slipper.
She is joining the Ciaron Maher stable next season, along with staying mare Zardozi.
Beadman is still undecided on what he will do when his tenure with Godolphin finishes at the end of the month.
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