Latest News

By Ray Hickson

A ten day “chill out” for promising filly Mumbai Muse has trainer Michael Freedman quietly confident a breakthrough win is on the cards at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Michael Freedman

Mumbai Muse hasn’t raced in anything less than a Group 3 in her five starts to date, for two thirds, and after he felt she wasn’t herself in her uncharacteristic Tea Rose failure, running ninth behind Tiz Invincible, Freedman sent her to Woodpark Stud for a freshen up.

Her return and subsequent trial win tells the trainer that Mumbai Muse is ready to fire in the Listed $200,000 TAB Brian Crowley Stakes (1200m).

“She just pulled up a bit flat and her blood was a little bit off, nothing serious but enough at that level to take the polish off,’’ he said.

“She came back bouncing and looking pleased with herself. I was rapt with the trial.

“She gives me the impression that she’s on top of her game again and she’s only had three runs this preparation.

“It’d be lovely to pick off a nice race this preparation and then reboot for the autumn. She’s certainly a high class filly.”

Tommy Berry has the ride on Mumbie Muse, $4.40 with TAB on Thursday, and prior to her last run she finished a close third behind Tiz Invincible and Kimochi in the Group 2 Furious Stakes.

Freedman said he didn’t consider dropping her to a maiden to get a win on the board as her prior form and the talent she’s shown says she’s a stakes performer.

The last filly to win the Brian Crowley was Spright back in 2016.

“I’m a great believer in giving them a confidence boost and trying to win but at this stage of her preparation there’s not much point in trying to pick off a maiden with her,’’ he said.

“She’s been so competitive against the good fillies in the first two parts of the Princess Series, she’s probably got her foot on the till.

“You’d imagine from the draw she would camp just behind the speed somewhere.”

Berry is also the partner for Ducasse in the Group 2 $1 million Callander-Presnell (1600m) and while he laments another wide barrier for the three-year-old, Freedman says it’s not as detrimental as wide gates have been in his past couple.

The colt drew the outside of 16 in the Ming Dynasty and seven of nine in the Tapp-Craig and hasn’t been beaten far.

“He’s my spring Blanc De Blanc, this is his third gate off the track,’’ he said.

“Up to the mile at Randwick it’s probably more negotiable from a wide gate than some of them at Rosehill. We might try and look at being a little more positive.

“He has the visors going on, I feel he’s been stargazing a bit in his races. He gives every indication that he will appreciate the mile.

“He hasn’t had a great deal of luck in any of his runs this campaign. He needs to at some stage put his hand up but he’s going better than his form suggests.”

Michael Freedman on Bunker Hut (race 10): “It’s a harder race than a Midway but the step up to the 1400m with a slightly softer tempo and a good barrier draw will set up better than what it was looking like last week. I think he is up to that level if he gets the right run. I thought his run at Rosehill on a track that wasn’t suiting horses trying to make ground down the middle of the track was a pretty decent run.”

Mumbai Muse wins a trial at Randwick on October 20

Meanwhile, Freedman said Blanc De Blanc will return to work in November having missed the spring.

The filly drew double figure barriers in five consecutive starts as a two-year-old and was placed in four of them before running sixth in the Golden Slipper and Freedman hopes the extended break will work in her favour come next year.

“She’ll come back into work within the next three or four weeks,’’ he said.

“By all reports she’s grown and strengthened up with the time off. It might be a blessing in disguise, she had a tough autumn.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Randwick meeting