Leading sire Playing God has several high-profile irons in the fire for the $4 million The Quokka while his midweek winners like Boy Blue are flying under the radar.
Ascot trainer Russell Stewart prepares Playing God’s $300,000 earner Swear To God and he unveiled another budding banker by the Darling View Thoroughbreds stallion when Boy Blue ran riot at Belmont last Wednesday.
Unraced at two and three, Boy Blue was in the money at all five starts earlier this season while rising from 1400m to 2200m. He’s a different horse this prep and that was palpable when he led from a wide gate and then increased the margin to six lengths turning for home in the Amelia Park Maiden (1600m).
“How good is that?” Stewart said as the 4yo hulk returned to scale. “I left it all to Jarrad (Noske) but I don’t know how he crossed them from the outside barrier. I wasn’t expecting him to go that quick out of the gates. I was thinking more of lining him up in a Pinjarra maiden over 1800m next week!”
He’s the penultimate foal of Mungrup Stud matron Yumalishus (Metal Storm) who had earned black-type back in 2003 when runner-up in the LR Ngawyni Stakes at Ascot. “Jan Williamson rang and said she was sending one up,” Stewart recalled. “ I couldn’t believe the size of him when the float arrived. He looked 18 hands.”
Boy Blue (Photo / Western Racepix) is raced in partnership by Williamson and Stewart’s wife Antonella. “That was a real good win and I think he’s a country cups horse in the making,” Stewart predicted. “Give me another twelve months and we could be getting him ready for races like the Albany Cup and Geraldton Cup.”
Playing God sprinters campaigning for a slot in The Quokka (1200m) on April 15 include the Rhys Radford’s Comfort Me and Colin Webster’s flyer Baby Paris.
Comfort Me (6g Playing God – Southern Comfort by Comfy) is a homebred for Frank & May Edwards and is right in the mix after placings in the G1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and $1.5 million Gold Rush (1400m) at Ascot.
“He’s been working good and ticked all the boxes winning a Lark Hill trial a fortnight ago,” Radford said. “He will resume in the Roma Cup and The Quokka second-up isn’t beyond him.”
Baby Paris (3f Playing God – War In Paris by War Chant) returned from a spell with a pleasing third in the Rock Magic Stakes on Saturday. She’s a class act having been beaten just twice in six starts last year – by Amelia’s Jewel (G2 Karrakatta Plate) and Sniparoochy (LR Jungle Mist Classic).
“She’s got tonnes of ability although I thought she may have been a bit suspect first-up,” Webster admitted. “But she just loves racing and does her best every time.”
Baby Paris is a homebred for Kalgoorlie trainer Gary Bowen and is the only foal from a Goldfields-winning daughter of LR Ngawyni Stakes winner Paris Moon (Metal Storm).
