But of the best kind.
After his two-year-old filly Zooming Zebra absolutely blitzed a maiden at Echuca on Sunday, Osborne has to work out what to do with her next.
And the win was so emphatic he is already very tempted to take her to town – he has his eyes on a Caulfield start in two weeks – in a Group 3 fillies race.
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“We went to Echuca at the weekend thinking she would go pretty well, somewhere in the first five, I just didn’t think she would go this well,” Osborne said.
Ridden aggressively by Michael Poy, Zooming Zebra showed great speed out of her wide draw and quickly took up the front running and set a cracking pace the whole way around the 1100m – in the end she would clock the fastest race of the day – and led them from go to whoa.
As the field swung into the straight Zooming Zebra stole a break and then just kept going, although she did find taking a straight line to the finish a bit of a challenge.
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“She’ll be three next week and going for a black type race might seem like a bit of a reach; but this will be her chance to run against horses her own age and as I bred and own the horse we’ve got nothing to lose,” Osborne said.
“She has pulled up really well from her third start, and ate up Sunday night back in the stables so we will see how she goes over the next few days – her form certainly shows she is worth giving a chance in town.”
It’s also been a busy time at the Osborne stables with the arrival of Prince of Caviar, the four-year-old son of the legendary Black Caviar.
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Osborne said the stallion has impeccable bloodlines – his father is Sebring and Black Caviar was sired by Bel Esprit – and will be standing at his stables for $4400 (which includes vet fees).
The only downer for Osborne after Sunday’s big win was that as confident as he felt going into the race, he didn’t take a big crack at the 35/1 offered and saw his horse paying $36.40 for the win.
And if you are wondering where the trainer comes up with the names for his horses, well it all started with his daughters, who given the choice named an earlier yearling Pretty Possum. Then they came up with Squeaky Squirrel.
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“The girls have grown up now; but I have sort of kept going along, choosing an animal for the horse and then a matching adjective – such as Zooming Zebra.”
Perhaps he will name one of the first foals from Prince of Caviar Alliteration Alligator.
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