Tarquin and Speak fondly step up, likely to avoid Golden Slipper

Godolphin’s Tarquin (Aus) (Hard Spun) and Gooree Stud’s homebred Speak Fondly (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}) produced a pair of exciting performances to land their respective Group 2 race at Rosehill Saturday, but both are likely to avoid a quick-fire return to the track for the G1 Golden Slipper Mar. 21. 

Tarquin presented one of Godolphin’s international retained riders, British-based William Buick, with a first win on Australian soil when scoring comfortably in the G2 Pago Pago S. The Norwegian native produced a cool-headed ride, settling in mid-field before angling his mount out wide and allowing him to get balanced at the top of the straight. The colt stretched out nicely to score by 3/4 length from Team Hawkes’ Rageese (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}). Tarquin is now unbeaten in two starts, having opened his account first-up in a 1300-meter maiden handicap last month. “We’ve always really, really liked him and we thought he’d run well today,” said trainer John O’Shea. The conditioner added that his preference would be to bypass the Golden Slipper. “I think Tarquin’s got a very, very bright future and going forward into the Sires’ Produce and the Champagne he’ll be quite effective,” he said. Darley stallion Hard Spun shuttled to Australia for six seasons but did not return this year.

Half an hour later, the Gai Waterhouse-trained Speak Fondly (Aus) posted a game all-the-way victory in the G2 Magic Night S. The daughter of the regretted Gooree Stud-bred Northern Meteor built on her second in the G2 Sweet Embrace S. two weeks ago, having finished third on debut in the Listed Gimcrack S. last October. “There’s no urgency to make the decision”, Gooree racing manager Monica Cummings said, referring to acceptances for the Golden Slipper closing on Tuesday morning. “I’ll have a talk to the boss [Eduardo Cojuangco] later today and we’ll go from there,” she added. Waterhouse said she would leave the decision to the filly’s owners, while identifying the G3 Percy Sykes S. Apr. 11 as a suitable back-up plan.