Whispering Brook To Rebound
19 April, 2018
Thoroughbred
Whispering Brook will be looking to add to the growing number of West Australian horses to line up in the Group 1 Sangster Stakes, when she lines up over 1200m at Morphettville on Saturday.
Dainty Tess, Quilista and Cool Passion are the other WA horses on target to run in the $1 million event on May 5, where they will likely run in to a strong field which will likely feature Group 1 winners Catchy, Secret Agenda and Viddora.
Formerly trained by Simon Miller in Perth, Whispering Brook won the Abell Stakes first-up for leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir at Moonee Valley on March 23, before being beaten as a warm favourite in the Manihi Classic at Morphettville on April 7.
Weir’s Warrnambool stable foreman Jarrod McLean said the four-year-old would run in the John C Harris 70th Birthday Handicap (1200m) at Morphettville, rather than the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes at Caulfield.
“If she can recapture her form from Moonee Valley, she will be hard to beat in that race,” McLean told TABradio’s The Sports Daily.
“We’ve upped the ante with her, we’ve worked her a bit harder since her second-up run.
“I’m sure we will be seeing her at her best on Saturday.”
Dean Yendall once again has the ride on Whispering Brook on Saturday where she meets Concealer, who won the Manihi Classic, 1.5kg better at the weights.
McLean said he was still confident Whispering Brook had interest in being a racehorse, despite the last start failure, and indicated she would be peaking for the Sangster Stakes in a fortnight.
“She was a little bit disappointing second-up, but I think we will see her bouncing back on Saturday,” he said.
“Hopefully we’ve got Quilista in the race, she (Whispering Brook) certainly wouldn’t be leading her, but she will be claiming them late.”
Meanwhile, Brave Smash will fly the flag for the Weir stable in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m), the final Group 1 of the Sydney Autumn Carnival at Randwick on Saturday.
The former Japanese galloper was placed in The Everest, but he was unplaced in the TJ Smith Stakes at the same course and distance on April 7.
McLean said he was hoping for a much better showing from Brave Smash in the $600,000 event on Saturday.
“You could say he was a little bit disappointing in the TJ not to run third,” he said.
“He’s had a little bit of chiropractor work done on him since the TJ and everything seems pretty good.
“Hopefully he can find his best form, which would see him competitive in that race.”
Tim Walker