The promising colt Tenenbaum is set to be given the opportunity to contest more significant races this spring after showcasing his ability in the first race at Canterbury.
As a full sibling to the 2025 Hong Kong Derby winner Cap Ferrat, the Snitzel colt is not anticipated to be stretched to staying trips this campaign. However, trainer Brad Widdup is hopeful the three-year-old can still make his mark during the carnival.
“He’s always shown a hell of a lot of promise,” Widdup said. “Unfortunately last time he got crook leading up to the better races and we had to change tack. He went to a maiden and won well and everyone saw what happened in the Clarendon Stakes. He never really got a fair crack. He’s bounced back and he’s in at the right time of year. We’ll try to sneak around the edges and see how far we get with him this time through, but he looks a horse with talent.”
Widdup had considered withdrawing Tenenbaum due to the heavy Canterbury track, but his concerns were unfounded as the $2.05 favourite secured a decisive 2-1/4 length victory over Yangzi River ($10), with Sprightly Affair ($3.70) finishing third.
While a concrete racing program for the colt has not yet been established, Widdup is keen to test the waters at stakes level, with the Callander-Presnell (1600m) race being a potential target.
“He’s still learning. I don’t think I’d want to go 2000 (metres) in the spring, or to a Derby or anything,” he commented. “But there are a lot of good races. The advantage is we can keep them in Sydney a fair while too now, you don’t have to run off to Melbourne and chase down there. We’ll just try to place him along the way.”
In the second event, Godolphin filly Piedmont, a daughter of the highly successful Guelph, broke her maiden in the Headwater @ Vinery Stud Handicap (1250m).
Ciaron Maher’s assistant trainer, Jo Gerard-Dubord, believes the three-year-old will improve further in the autumn but has the race-day nous to progress through the grades.
“She’s got a fair bit of quality. She is well bred, Mum was very good, and it’s nice to get a city winner for Godolphin,” Gerard-Dubord stated. “She’s only going to keep improving. Now she’s got her win out of the way, hopefully she can go on to better things.”
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