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Forbidden Love demolishes Surround Stakes rivals
Vinery Stud-based sire All Too Hard (Casino Prince) was handed his third Group 1 winner on Saturday as his daughter Forbidden Love (3 f ex Juliet's Princess by More Than Ready) produced a scintillating performance to win the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Randwick.
A dual Listed winner, the Michael and Richard Freedman-trained Forbidden Love was placed midfield on the fence by Nash Rawiller and when she was asked for her effort off the bend, the filly found a gap between runners to scamper away to beat Vangelic (Vancouver) by a comfortable three lengths. Elizabeel (Power) was another neck away in third.
The victory provided the Freedman brothers their first Group 1 winner since they entered a training partnership and Michael said he was happy to see the filly bunce back to form, having been very disappointed with her ninth place finish in the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) in January.
“I was a little bit despondent after her run in the Magic Millions, I thought she'd run better and she just didn't cope with the trip at all,” said Freedman. “But she had a couple of weeks off at Julian Blaxland's farm up in Queensland and he rang me and said she's doing that well you should bring her home and get her ready for something. Yeah, it's just a big thrill.
"She's come a long way, I mean it was less than twelve months ago she was going around in midweeks at Canterbury I think. She's just kept improving and maturing which is a bit typical of the breed.
“Not that I was confident coming into today, but Wajid, full credit to him he does a lot of work with her and he knows her very well and he galloped her Tuesday and said 'Boss, if she's going to win a Group 1 it'll be this Saturday'.
"Yes, she was very very aggressive early on as a young horse and just wanted to do things in too much of a hurry. So we just had to take our time with her and teach her to relax a bit and she's just the full package now.
“I think she really turned the corner when we sent her to Melbourne and she ran that great race in the Fillies and Mares Group 1 down there. I think the sky's the limit for her, I think she's right up there with some of the best."
Freedman said the filly could head to the Coolmore Classic (Gr 1, 1500m) at Rosehill on March 13, while they would also consider a tilt at the Doncaster Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) on April 3.
"I think we'll just see how she pulls up, I mean the Coolmore is only a couple of weeks away which would certainly be worth thinking about,” said Freedman. “I guess we might even think about a Doncaster later on, who knows, I mean she'd have no weight in it. I think from memory we've kept her in it. I hope we have anyway.”
Forbidden Love was purchased by Richard Freedman for $150,000 at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Bhima Thoroughbreds draft and Mike Fleming told Racing & Sports Bloodstock he was delighted with the result.
“It is not everyday you get a new Group 1 winner off the farm,” said Fleming. “She was a beautiful athletic filly, with size and scope and was a very good moving horse.
“She went through at a time when All Too Hard was maybe a bit quiet, but she was a lovely filly out of a stakes-placed More Than Ready mare, so she had the page behind her.
“It is certainly a family that has strengthened after today and she is obviously a filly with a huge amount of ability and they will have some fun with her over the next 12 months I think.”
The filly provided Bhima with the second leg of a stakes double, with Four Moves Ahead (Snitzel) - another graduate of the farm - landing the Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) earlier on the Randwick card.
Bred by Kerry O’Brien Thoroughbreds, Forbidden Love is one of two winners out of stakes-placed More Than Ready (Southern Halo) mare Juliet's Princess.
Forbidden Love’s third dam is Bangkok (Riverman), who produced Grade 3 winner River Squall (Summer Squall) and Listed scorer Scenic Point (Unbridled) - the dam of Grade 3 scorer Better Now (Thunder Gulch) who in turn produced Listed winner La Mejor Fiesta (Harlan’s Holiday).
Bangkok is also the dam of Listed winner Eastern Dude (Dahar), while she is also the grandam of three-time Grade 3 scorer Heavenly Landing (Pulpit).
Juliet’s Princess produced a colt in 2018 by Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock) who was purchased by Matthew Williams Racing for $40,000 at last year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling and after missing to Arrowfield Stud shuttler Shalaa (Invincible Spirit) in 2019, the mare was produced a colt by Darley Stud sire Epaulette (Commands) and was covered by All Too Hard again last November.
The filly’s victory also handed former Vinery Stud shuttler More Than Ready with his 107th stakes winner as a broodmare sire, while Forbidden Love is bred on the same cross as Group 3 winner Outrageous.
Forbidden Love joins Group 1-winning pair Alligator Blood and Behemoth as All Too Hard’s other top-flight winners and he has 14 lots catalogued at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
