Brad Widdup’s success with Nevada Sunrise at Bathurst yesterday rekindled an “old” Brisbane connection.
The lightly-raced three-year-old is raced by a syndicate headed by Black Caviar’s trainer Peter Moody and which was put together by John Fleming.
“I moved to Brisbane in 1999 to help Liam Birchley run then Sydney trainer Bill Mitchell’s satellite stable,” Widdup recalled this morning.
“Peter had just left Bill’s stable to start training in his own right, and I saw a lot of him.
“John was Tony Gollan’s (leading trainer) foreman, and we became good mates.
“It was great to get a result for both of them along with the syndicate of owners which race Nevada Sunrise.”
Moody, now retired from training, purchased Nevada Sunrise (Fighting Sun – Selma Spur) for only $35,000 (Lot 599) at last year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier yearling sale.
Expatriate South African Keagan Latham rode Nevada Sunrise ($7.50), who broke through in the Maiden Plate (1408m) at only his third career start.
Relishing a drop back from his first two starts at the provincials, the gelding beat $1.90 favorite Canasta and $12 chance Jailbird Jayjay.
Nevada Sunrise is only the second horse Widdup has prepared by Fighting Sun.
He won with Sunfighter on debut in a 2YO Maiden (1100m) at Wyong on January 21 last year, but unfortunately the gelding was badly injured at his next start when an $8.50 chance in the Inglis Classic (1200m) at Warwick Farm on February 10, and was retired.
Fighting Sun was unbeaten from two starts as a two-year-old, including the Listed Canonbury Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens in 2014.
His sire Northern Meteor won the 2008 Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, and was the leading first season sire in 2012-13 when a fatal colic attack at the end of that season prematurely ended a very promising stud career.
Nevada Sunrise continued leading Hawkesbury trainer Widdup’s winning momentum, being his third in the last five days – and all are three-year-olds who shed their maiden status.
He scored with talented Lonhro filly Darling Point at Hawkesbury last Thursday and Sizzling colt Bullet Storm, who scored impressively at Nowra on Sunday.