Following some sharp trackwork, Adrian Bott has decided to include Reachin’ Out in Tulloch Lodge’s lineup for the Silver Shadow Stakes. This filly will join her well-performed stablemates Agrarian Girl and By Choice in the initial leg of the four-race Princess Series.
Bott indicated that they had initially considered a softer opening target for Reachin’ Out after her recent trials, but her work over the past week has prompted a change in their thinking.
“We originally had her pencilled in for some tougher tasks first-up, then we settled on some easier tasks after her trials,” Bott explained. “Then we saw the nominations and after her work on Saturday, we thought she deserved to kick off there.”
Bott and co-trainer Gai Waterhouse will have three runners in the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m), a race the stable has won three times in the last two decades, most recently with Autumn Ballet in 2023.
Agrarian Girl also begins her campaign in the feature race after a two-start juvenile season that resulted in a debut win and a second placing behind the top filly Chayan in the Reisling Stakes (1200m). She was an emergency for the Golden Slipper but did not gain entry and was spelled. Bott anticipates she will sprint well fresh.
“Agrarian Girl, she’s a natural speed filly,” he remarked. “She has trialled up well on two occasions. She had limited opportunities in her two-year-old campaign, but she was really good the times we saw her.”
By Choice, a multiple stakes placegetter, will also make her seasonal return at Randwick, having been off the scene since finishing third behind Saturday’s rival Pembrey in the Magic Night Stakes (1200m). Bott expects her to appreciate more distance and believes she will come into her own during the latter stages of the Princess Series in the Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) and Flight Stakes (1600m).
“By Choice, she’s the most seasoned of them all,” he stated. “She will be better suited getting out to 1400 and 1600 metres this prep. She will stay in the Princess Series, but she may just find them a little sharp first time out.”
All three Tulloch Lodge fillies have drawn adjacent barriers. Reachin’ Out, with Regan Bayliss riding, will start from barrier six, Agrarian Girl (Tim Clark) from gate seven, and By Choice (Rachel King) from barrier eight.
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