Followers of our Juvenile Trial Watch stories on Breednet would have been all over this eye-catching 2YO winner by Maurice (Jpn).
Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Kibou was one of the favourites for the Group III ATC Breeders Plate won by Sejardan, but finished out of the placings and pulled up shinsore.
Gelded during his break away from the track, his two barrier trials since then have been outstanding and he ran right up to that form on raceday.
Kibou stalked the leaders for Regan Bayliss and powered clear over the final furlongs to win the 1100m maiden by more than three lengths, despite racing greenly in the strong headwind.
“He has a lot of raw natural ability and there is still a lot of improvement to come,” said Adrian Bott.
Kibou has many similarities to Maurice’s Group I winning sprinter Mazu, who also took great benefit from being gelded allowing him to focus on the task of being a racehorse.
Bought from Inglis Classic as was Mazu, Kibou was snapped up by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott / Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $170,000 from the Arrowfield draft and is the second winner from Fortiche, a half-sister to multiple Group winner Mic Mac.
Maurice is slated to return to Arrowfield this spring at a fee of $82,500.
