Michael Freedman’s remarkable affinity for two-year-olds was once again on display at Randwick as Shraddha ran away with the Gimcrack Stakes, leading the trainer to draw comparisons with Manaal.
Manaal had won the corresponding race three years prior before going on to claim the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) in the autumn, and a further three black-type races following her juvenile season.
Freedman also has a strong record in the Golden Slipper, winning two of the last six with Marhoona (2025) and Stay Inside (2021), the latter prepared with his brother Richard. He light-heartedly dismissed any claims of a secret technique for preparing juveniles.
“I love working with them. I don’t know that there is any secret sauce,” Freedman conveyed.
“You just work with them and the ones that look like they’ll go early will tell you, and the ones that don’t will tell you the same way.”
“Funnily enough, I said to my foreman this morning, she reminds me a lot of Manaal. She has a really good turn of foot, which Manaal did too, and I think she has a bright future.”
By Ole Dancer, Shraddha, a $250,000 Magic Millions yearling purchase, had previously led the field to win her 850m heat at the official two-year-old trials last month.
However, Freedman had instructed jockey Tommy Berry to aim for cover in Saturday’s Gimcrack Stakes (1000m), a strategy that almost proved difficult as the filly had to push through a narrow gap to make her winning charge.
“There wasn’t much of a gap there at the top of the straight, but she put herself into it and won with authority,” Berry said.
“She hit the front at the 300 metres and had her ears pricked the whole way down the straight.”
“When the opposition gets better, she will get better.”
Freedman also had colt Capitano finish second to Flying Houdini in the Breeders’ Plate (1000m) for the colts. He indicated that he would assess how both young horses recover before finalising a plan.
His initial thoughts are to give Capitano a spell and target the Magic Millions Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast in January, and spell Shraddha in preparation for an autumn carnival campaign.
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