Travers' blue bloods ready to shine at Gundagai
Trainer Michael Travers will be on the road to Gundagai with a couple of stablemates directly descended from two of the greatest grey mares to have raced in Australia, New Zealand and in one case – Japan.
Travers' grey three-year-old filly Seasmoke boasts Dave O'Sullivan's legendary Kiwi mare Horlicks as her fourth dam.
A winner of seven Group 1s in total, Horlicks is best remembered for her epic win in the 1989 Japan Cup setting a new world record time of 2:22.2 seconds for the 2400m.
Freud, meanwhile, is a cleverly-named son of So You Think whose third dam is none other than Bounding Away.
Not only did the Tommy Smith-bred, owned and trained grey filly collect the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper double in 1986, she returned at three to win the AJC Oaks.
Seasmoke, who resumes in the Adelong Engineering And Construction Country Boosted Maiden Handicap (1180m), failed to make much of an impression at her four-start first campaign but has more talent than her resume would indicate.
"She is definitely better than her form reads," Travers says.
"She was just learning all throughout last preparation. She drew wide twice and then I think we rode her upside down once when we finally she did have a good draw.
"She's had a jumpout leading into this and she will improve as she goes but I think she should be forward enough to run a nice race."
Freud, meanwhile, has been around the mark in all three runs since finishing fifth at Sandown-Hillside with Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jye McNeil in the saddle at what was his last run for Team Hawkes back on October 1.
Freud's first mission of 2026 is the GBE Electrical Country Boosted Class 1 Handicap (1400m).
"He's had a bit of a break,'' Travers says.
"He is very fresh coming into this and he should be finishing quite well.
"I don't know that Gundagai is a track that really suits him, he is a horse that needs a bigger, open, track but we're basically kicking off a new preparation even though it's not a long spell."
Travers saddles-up another of dual Cox Plate winner So You Think's offspring, namely Satashi who looks ready and able to stretch her stamina to 1800m in the Woody's Earthmoving Benchmark 58 Handicap.
Satashi has finished third and fourth respectively, both times at Wagga, in her only two outings so far for Travers.
"She's done really well,'' he said.
"If we could be a little bit closer, a little bit handier, would obviously be helpful around Gundagai.
"She got back last start but that was more so the bad draw but she is going as well as she can go."
Travers is likely to have two runners in the feature Adelong Cup (1400m) with Gold Tracker and former Leilani Lodge resident Kahawaty chasing the lion's share of the $27,000 purse.
"I was disappointed with Gold Tracker's last start but he gets in with a much kinder weight this time,'' Travers explained.
"He's won there at the track previously so it is a nice race for him.
"This is the race that we have pencilled in for Kahawaty for a long time.
"She is a 66 going into a 66 rating race. She is probably getting on into the twilight of career.
"She'll head towards the Tumbarumba Cup and the Holbrook Cup again but we need to see something out of her run at Gundagai to keep progressing forward."
Words: Shayne O'Cass
Image: Bradley Photos
