Sempre Libera Breaks Through In Wet
- Wednesday, 01 April 2015 07:15
Prominent breeder John Camilleri could yet have a significant day as an owner during the Sydney autumn carnival after Sempre Libera's win at Rosehill.
Camilleri bred the Golden Slipper winner Vancouver and sold the colt as a yearling before trainer Gai Waterhouse invited him back into the ownership group.
He decided against taking up Waterhouse's offer and now Vancouver is the most valuable colt in Australian racing with a Hunter Valley stud reportedly on the verge of buying into the two-year-old.
"Gai did ask John to come back into Vancouver but he declined," Tulloch Lodge spokesman Mark Newnham said.
"But he's got all the relations to these horses and the ones he races are nice and the ones he sells are nice so it's a win-win for him anyway."
Sempre Libera is by Vancouver's sire Medaglia d'Oro and her dam is the 1996 Golden Slipper Merlene.
Even without winning a race, Sempre Libera was assured of a future as a broodmare but if Waterhouse's autumn plan for the filly comes off, her value will skyrocket.
She will be set for the Percy Sykes Stakes, a Group Three race for two-year-old fillies on Queen Elizabeth Stakes day at Randwick on April 11.
After giving her rivals a start on a rain-affected track in Wednesday's McGrath Estate Agents Handicap (1200m), Sempre Libera, a $6 chance, ran home with purpose to beat Flippant by a half length.
In the looks department, Godolphin filly Accuse had the TAB.com.au Plate won before the start.
But Accuse showed she was a lot more than a good sort after she was made to work hard for her first win after being caught deep close to the speed.
Accuse is by Lonhro from Impeach and assistant trainer Darren Beadman said the filly reminded him a lot of her flashy-looking sire, a modern-day great of the Australian turf he rode to win 16 races.
"When you look at her she shines at four o'clock in the morning so she's a female version of Lonhro," Beadman said.
"She is a filly with a lot of upside to her and I think she is only going to get better with time as a lot of Lonhros do."
