Modella staying in NSW for Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas instead of travelling to Queensland
Curtis, who trains alongside his wife Cherie, nominated Modella for Hawkesbury's stand-alone meeting as well as Brisbane's Group 2 $350,000 Queensland Guineas (1600m) at Eagle Farm on the same day.
'We have decided to stay here,' Curtis said.
'We just think she was a bit keen last start (in the James Carr) so have changed a bit of gear with her and she has been working quite well in that.
'We want to try her at the 1400m and then if all goes well and she runs well, we will look to go up to Queensland.
'She could end up in a Stradbroke or an (Queensland) Oaks or The Roses, I just don't know and we just want to get through this weekend before.'
A three-year-old daughter of Castelvecchio, Modella has the option of heading on a fillies' Classic path or being kept over the shorter trips.
The Curtis's plan to have her among the nominations for the Stradbroke Handicap, which was won last year by a three-year-old filly when Stefi Magnetica put her name up in lights.
The Hawkesbury Guineas is a proven stepping stone for future Group 1 horses with last year's winner Schwarz going on to claim the William Reid Stakes earlier this year.
Modella, rated a $15, was among 23 nominations for the Hawkesbury Guineas alongside Snitzanova ($4.50 favourite), Emirate ($6.50) and Just Party ($6.50).
The final field is set to be revealed on Wednesday morning.
James McDonald breaks through for his first of the afternoon with Lilac for @ANeashamRacing. @mcacajamez pic.twitter.com/7FBjANYkPl
— 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) April 19, 2025
• 'Got to aim high': Flying filly has Stradbroke in sights
Modella was beaten but far from disgraced in her first crack in stakes grade last start when she was trapped three deep but battled on for fifth in the Group 3 James HB Carr Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick.
'She got caught deep and then the pace went out of the race so everything went against her,' Curtis said.
'But the run in itself was huge.
'She is going good and her work on Tuesday morning was good so she is on target and we've just got to wait to see if she draws a barrier.
'But if she was to draw badly, we probably wouldn't even run her because we don't want to go through (last start) again.'
Meanwhile, Curtis confirmed exciting filly Bauhinia has returned to work to begin preparing for the Sydney spring carnival.
Bauhinia hasn't raced since finishing down the track in the $3m Magic Millions Guineas in January with the stable planning a slow build up towards her return.
A date with the $10m Golden Eagle is among the options available to Bauhinia in the spring.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
7 days ago
- The Australian
Apprentice hoop Matthew Chadwick nails double at Murray Bridge to continue strong form
Apprentice jockey Matthew Chadwick continued a brilliant run of form on Saturday, snaring a double as the metro season kicked off at Murray Bridge. Chadwick, 26, piloted Thermodynamic ($20 Sportsbet) to an upset win for trainer Nicole Irwin, before guiding in-form gelding Morris Minor ($6.50) home for a one-length win for Morphettville handler Craig Curtis. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The Victorian hoop, previously apprenticed to Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr, made the move to South Australia last September in search of opportunity and has scored 19 winners in that time as stable apprentice to Chris Bieg. A purple patch of form has seen Chadwick boot home five winners over the past week, including a double at Morphettville last Saturday to finish the 2024-25 metro season. 'Obviously I finished last season with a fair bit of momentum,' Chadwick said after winning aboard Thermodynamic. 'I just really want to keep that going through the early part of this season, and hopefully continue it on for the whole season.' • 'I was a passenger': In-form Sensation set for Group 1 shot Chadwick, who claims 3kg at metro level, was full of praise for Morris Minor, who notched a fifth career win under Curtis. 'Curtis was very open, he's pretty easygoing 'the King', he was more than happy for me to do what I pleased out there,' he said. 'I thought the best way to ride him was just to get that suck run and see how it transpired, it worked out pretty much down to a tee for me. 'If you could have a barn full of him (Morris Minor), you would. He's just a gun ride, anyone can get along with him, I'm just rapt to get one for King Curtis.' • Unbeaten mare Without Parallel emerges as Kosciuszko contender Local trainer Roslyn Day has talented gelding Riche D'amour in career-best form, the son of Rich Enuff flew home under Connor Murtagh to deny $1.1m yearling Cash over 1200m. Fast Bubbles is another galloper that is flying, the Hellbent gelding notched a remarkable fourth win in-a-row in a Benchmark 76 (1400m) under the riding of premiership-winning hoop Jake Toeroek, who also nailed a double on the nine-race card. Trained by Glen Kent and Wayne Francis, Fast Bubbles began his preparation with one win from 13 starts, but has since nailed wins at Balaklava, Morphettville and Murray Bridge (twice).
News.com.au
02-08-2025
- News.com.au
Apprentice hoop Matthew Chadwick nails double at Murray Bridge to continue strong form
Apprentice jockey Matthew Chadwick continued a brilliant run of form on Saturday, snaring a double as the metro season kicked off at Murray Bridge. Chadwick, 26, piloted Thermodynamic ($20 Sportsbet) to an upset win for trainer Nicole Irwin, before guiding in-form gelding Morris Minor ($6.50) home for a one-length win for Morphettville handler Craig Curtis. The Victorian hoop, previously apprenticed to Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr, made the move to South Australia last September in search of opportunity and has scored 19 winners in that time as stable apprentice to Chris Bieg. A purple patch of form has seen Chadwick boot home five winners over the past week, including a double at Morphettville last Saturday to finish the 2024-25 metro season. 'Obviously I finished last season with a fair bit of momentum,' Chadwick said after winning aboard Thermodynamic. 'I just really want to keep that going through the early part of this season, and hopefully continue it on for the whole season.' Murray Bridge Race 5 | Morris Minor Morris Minor is too classy over the 1100m at Murray Bridge second-up from a spell ðŸ'� Matthew Chadwick completes a riding double! ðŸ'° Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app REPLAYS: â€' (@Racing) August 2, 2025 • Chadwick, who claims 3kg at metro level, was full of praise for Morris Minor, who notched a fifth career win under Curtis. 'Curtis was very open, he's pretty easygoing 'the King', he was more than happy for me to do what I pleased out there,' he said. 'I thought the best way to ride him was just to get that suck run and see how it transpired, it worked out pretty much down to a tee for me. 'If you could have a barn full of him (Morris Minor), you would. He's just a gun ride, anyone can get along with him, I'm just rapt to get one for King Curtis.' Murray Bridge Race 3 | Thermodynamic Thermodynamic is too strong over the mile at Murray Bridge, bursting through the pack at rough odds to win ðŸ'« ðŸ'° Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app REPLAYS: â€' (@Racing) August 2, 2025 • Local trainer Roslyn Day has talented gelding Riche D'amour in career-best form, the son of Rich Enuff flew home under Connor Murtagh to deny $1.1m yearling Cash over 1200m. Fast Bubbles is another galloper that is flying, the Hellbent gelding notched a remarkable fourth win in-a-row in a Benchmark 76 (1400m) under the riding of premiership-winning hoop Jake Toeroek, who also nailed a double on the nine-race card. Trained by Glen Kent and Wayne Francis, Fast Bubbles began his preparation with one win from 13 starts, but has since nailed wins at Balaklava, Morphettville and Murray Bridge (twice).
The Australian
28-07-2025
- The Australian
Paul Shailer insists Mister Bianco isn't ready yet for any trips interstate
Gold Coast trainer Paul Shailer insists Mister Bianco isn't ready yet for any trips interstate to compete in major races but he'll know more about the promising gelding's prospects this summer. Shailer has earmarked a potential tilt at The Gateway (1400m) at Eagle Farm in December which offers a golden ticket into next year's Stradbroke Handicap to the winner. It's the same $300,000 contest that took cult galloper The Inflictor and hobby trainer Craig Cousins on a magic carpet ride to this year's edition of Queensland's premier race. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Mister Bianco ($3.30) is the narrow favourite for a 3YO Handicap (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday, slightly ahead of the Richard and Bevan Laming-trained colt Savour The Dream ($3.50). 'He's not ready for Sydney or Melbourne,' Shailer said about Mister Bianco, who was a late scratching from this month's $300,000 Group 3 Winx Guineas (1600m) at the Sunshine Coast after Shailer couldn't find a suitable rider following an injury to Ryan Maloney. 'He's not good enough at the moment so we might as well race for good Saturday prizemoney here (in Brisbane) while we can. 'He'll have a spell and then we'll bring him back for some summer racing.' • Shock twist in Brisbane jockeys' title race after cobalt positive Mister Bianco has been flying during a campaign that started in mid-April, winning three of his past four races, including last month's $150,000 TL Cooney (1350m) at Ipswich. 'He's a few runs in and some pros think he should be in the paddock,' Shailer said. 'I'm very mindful of that and I'm certainly looking for reasons for him to show me that he's ready to go to the paddock but he hasn't given me any. 'Until that happens he'll be racing. He's in fantastic order and his work on Tuesday was as good as I've seen from him.' Mister Bianco will go for a spell after Saturday. Picture: Trackside Photography Co-trainer Richard Laming said he would set a spring plan for Savour The Dream after seeing how the colt performed in his next two runs. The three-year-old returns to the track on Saturday after finishing 12th in the $1m Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 1 and then 11th in the $750,000 Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) in Sydney three weeks later. • What are the odds of fairytale start for syndicate? 'Look, we're not wound down and we're not screwed up so whatever we do, we'll improve on,' Laming said. 'He's going to go up in distance but we're unsure where he'll go. I'll be guided by how he performs over his first couple of runs, whether we go interstate or just give him a short prep and turn him back out. 'Sometimes with three-year-olds, when they do a fair bit of racing and they're travelling like that horse did, they don't sort of come up so that's always in the back of your mind. 'If he doesn't fire over his first two runs then we'll probably turn him back out.' Laming said that after Saturday, Savour The Dream would head to a Benchmark 85 (1600m) at Eagle Farm before he formulated a plan for the colt's spring assault.
