Rosemont Stud’s commitment to investing in high-quality colts has paid off, with their million-dollar purchase Schwarz securing victory in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley.
Co-trainer Tom Charlton described Schwarz as “a big-ticket stallion with a big pedigree,” having been purchased for $1.25 million at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The four-year-old son of Zoustar thrived under the track’s leader-biased conditions, which had been evident throughout the race day.
“He’s still relatively lightly raced, and we’ve learned a lot about him this preparation,” said Charlton, who trains Schwarz in partnership with John O’Shea.
“He was dominant first-up here but didn’t quite back up over 1400 metres two weeks later. We had it in mind to target this race again, keeping him fresh over 1200 metres.”
Schwarz had previously won the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) in January before fading to the back of the field in the Group 1 Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield six weeks ago. Adopting an aggressive front-running strategy, Schwarz secured a second Group 1 win for his co-trainers and a third for jockey Jamie Mott, who took the ride with regular jockey Blake Shinn away in Sydney.
“Before the meeting, I was slightly concerned that the inside rail might not be the best place to be,” Mott said.
“But as the day unfolded, it became clear that our race plan would suit him perfectly and give him the best chance to win.”
Schwarz ($5.50 betting favorite) claimed victory by a length over Benedetta ($7), with race favorite Jimmysstar ($2.90) finishing another length back in third after a late run.
With six wins and a placing from 12 starts, Schwarz’s career earnings have now surpassed $1.1 million.
A slow start hindered Jimmysstar, though jockey Ethan Brown was still pleased with his performance.
“He ran enormous,” Brown said.
“He was a little slow out of the gates and was on the back foot from the start.
“They were just a bit sharp for him around The Valley, and that run suggests he’s now looking for 1400 metres. But I take nothing away from him—he ran terrific.”
