Greg Eurell went to the Karaka Yearling Sale earlier this year to buy what he hoped would be the next generation of stable stars, but it could be a filly who had already had a couple of starts at the time that proves his best pick-up.
A conversation with existing client Craig Dawson laid the foundations for Eurell acquiring Our Red Morning, who on Saturday was a class above her rivals in the $150,000 Neds Bet Back 3YO Fillies Handicap at Caulfield.
The 1400-metre event was her third start for Eurell, but fifth overall after third and eighth placings in New Zealand in January, with Eurell happy to take her on after looking at her first two starts.
“The owner that sent her over, Craig, he said, ‘I’ve got a filly here you might be interested in, have a look at her replays and see what you think. If you like her, I’ll send her across’,” Eurell recalled.
“I had a look at the replays, and she only placed that day (on debut), but she ran really good and I really liked the way she ran into it, exactly like she did today.
“Knowing Kiwi horses, they’re good in the wet, so it was the right time of year to come across. By the time she had a spell and came in for us we’d have hit the winter.
“It was either going to work or it wasn’t, but it’s worked.”
Our Red Morning ($3.80 fav) made it back-to-back wins, following a dominant Mornington maiden win on a Heavy 10, when she cruised to a three-length win over She’s Pretty Rich ($7) with Impending Shadow ($13) was a neck away third.
The daughter of Redwood’s ninth of 11 at Echuca on debut for Eurell is now a distant memory as the Cox Plate-winning trainer ponders what to do next with the rising four-year-old.
“We’re just going to have to have a good hard look and see what’s available,” he said.
“She may have to have a little breather and then there maybe something there to focus on. We’ll go home, let the dust settle and see what we can find.
“But if she gets it all together she’s going to be a bit of a force in a couple of nice races I would think.”