Tulloch Lodge will stretch it’s influence across the full breadth of Australia next weekend with its usual team of runners in Sydney along with Zoumon in the Group 1 Northerly Stakes in Perth.
Trainers Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse have secured the retiring Damien Oliver to partner Zoumon, who will be a late nomination for the Northerly Stakes (1800m) at Ascot where he is set to take on the likes of Zaaki along with the Railway Stakes quinella of Bustler and Alsephina.
Bott said he and Waterhouse would dearly love to see Five Diamonds runner-up Zoumon deliver Oliver another Group 1 before the end of the champion hoop’s decorated career.
“It really would be great, so hopefully he can do it,” Bott said of Zoumon.
“He’s in really good order. He went over there not long after his run in the Five Diamonds.
“He will be a late nomination for the Northerly Stakes next Saturday with his main aim over there being the Perth Cup.”
Waterhouse and Bott will also have a strong hand in Sydney with Surf Dancer and Dajrran possible starters in the $3 million The Ingham (1600m) at Randwick, while the stable will bid to extend it’s incredible start to the two-year-old season in the Inglis Nursery (1000m).
The training partners have produced the winners of four of the five Saturday juvenile races in Sydney, most recently with the Magic Millions-bound Storm Boy, an impressive victor at his first start on Saturday.
Storm Boy will join stablemate and Breeders’ Plate runner-up Straight Charge on the Magic Millions trail, while Bott has confirmed unbeaten colt Shangri La Express is being saved for a Golden Slipper tilt.
“He will head towards the autumn, so he’ll skip the Magic Millions,” Bott said of Shangri La Express
“Straight Charge is Magic Millions, he’ll trial again and run at the end of the month and he is obviously one of the leading (Magic Millions) chances for us on what he’s done to date.”
Straight Charge was among a number of juveniles to trial well for Tulloch Lodge at Randwick on Tuesday, along with filly Toque, who heads to the Wyong Magic Millions, and Jupiter Hills, a daughter of Exceedance who is set to line up in Saturday’s Inglis Nursery.
“I’ve got a lot of time for her,” Bott said of Jupiter Hills.
“It’s not easy for a debut but it’s the right race to have a crack at.”