Respected Randwick trainer John Thompson has spent the past couple of seasons rebuilding his stable and he is hoping Gimcrack Stakes winner Bel Merci can usher in his next chapter.
With the retirement a few years ago of the likes of stakes performers Dreamforce and Sweet Deal, and a fatal race day injury to the promising Xtremetime, Thompson was left with a significant void to fill.
While he has rarely been short of Saturday-class horses, stakes grade gallopers have been harder to come by, but in two-year-old Bel Merci, he is optimistic he has found his next carnival contender.
“It’s nice to have a good horse. It pumps the whole stable up and everything flows off the back of it,” Thompson said.
“She’s a natural. Just raw speed, sound, a competitive horse.
“Everything you do you’ve got to slow her down because she just wants to get out there. She is a real athlete.”
Bel Merci was a dominant winner of the Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) on debut in October and the two fillies who filled the placings behind her, O’Ole and Memo, have subsequently run one-two in the Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic.
Thompson’s charge has recently returned to the stable after enjoying a spring spell and he is pleased with the way she has furnished.
“She had a good six-week spell and she has done well,” he said.
“She grew a bit, strengthened up a bit.
“She has just started going three-quarter pace and she is looking the goods.”
Bel Merci is pencilled in for a barrier trial at Randwick on January 13 before connections plot a path towards the $5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 22.
She is currently on the second line of 2025 Golden Slipper betting at $15, behind $11 pre-post favourite West Of Swindon with online betting companies.
