Ryan has always been an unabashed fan of Rothesay and, upon retirement, was more than happy to label him the most naturally talented galloper he had ever thrown a saddle over.
That's quite a big statement from the man who has had horses of the ilk of Snitzel, Hurricane Sky, Melito and co. pass through his stables and it added to the impressive list of credentials that Rothesay carried with him when entering the breeding barn at Glenlogan Park for the first time back in 2011.
Fast forward to the present and Rothesay, who has more 2YO's ready to race for him than any other sire in his crop, has exposed the first of those runners with his first trialer in Australia winning, his first trialer in New Zealand winning and all four of his 2YO's breezing up at the Gold Coast on Monday breaking the 11 second barrier.
It's early days ……. But starts simply don't come much better than that!
The quartet of breeze up horses on the Coast were the first to step out and caught the eye of all the good judges as every one of them dashed home to record a sub 11 second time; making Rothesay one of only two sires (with 3 or more to breeze up) to achieve that feat.
One day later at Eagle Farm saw the first metropolitan 2YO trials held for the season in Qld and the Rothesay filly Says Me ticked all the boxes as she jumped well and then powered home to win the first of these by almost one length for trainer Col Williamson and owner Linda Huddy.
However, as promising as all of those performances were, it was an effort from
over the Tasman that had the phones ringing hot at Glenlogan as the un-named Rothesay
colt out of Upper Notch was given a very soft trial but could not have been
more impressive.Trained out of the Ben Foote stable, the solidly built chestnut had tongues wagging and agents' phones running hot – but it will take plenty of coaxing to get this young horse away from his owners and trainer.
"There were no surprises today," Ben said. "I have known for a very long time the potential that this fellow has shown and it is very hard to keep the excitement in check.
"For a while now the owners have been asking me how he was going and I told them that I was finding it hard to put into words – they needed to come and look for themselves.
"So last week they came down and we put him in a jumpout against the older horses but it was no contest, he just blew them away. And he did it in second gear!
"I've had some decent horses in my time, including a really fast G2 winner called Ego who is now a sire at Haunui Farm, but I have never had anything that would come close to being as promising as this horse. He's got it all.
"I'm like most trainers in New Zealand and we survive by selling horses, however when I legged Leith (Innes) up today I said to him that this bloke wasn't for sale and we just wanted to teach him. I wanted him in behind them and then just ease to the line.
"He had them covered a long, long way from home and Leith never let his head go. He only won by one length or so but he could have won by ten.
"He's got the perfect temperament, he eats everything in sight – he's just a gorgeous animal.
"The plan now is to give him a little freshen and then we will probably debut in the Wellesley Stakes (Listed) at Trentham in late October.
"However, all going well, he will line up in all the best races here in New Zealand as he is still a colt and I am sure he has an enormous future.
"A measure of how strongly I feel about this fellow is the fact that when I won the Great Northern Steeplechase here on Saturday with Amanood Lad, a race I have wanted to win my whole life, I turned to my mate whilst we were in the winner's stall and said 'I can't stop thinking of the Rothesay!' … And I am sure that says it all!"
News from Glenlogan Park
