All eyes will be on the New Zealand racecourse of Trentham tomorrow as the Adrian Bull-trained So Divine makes her eagerly anticipated debut – providing she gets a run.
The full sister of dual Group 1 winner and Caulfield Cup placegetter Monaco Consul is currently the second emergency for Race 6, the Vero Insurance Maiden over 1600m.
However, it looks likely that she will get a run with already one scratching above her and a number of other runners appearing questionable.
So Divine was sold at the 2009 Karaka Select Yearling Sale, where she sold for the bargain price of $9 000 – seemingly an anomaly, given that one year prior Monaco Consul was sold for $100 000.
That now looks to be an incredibly shrewd purchase, given the racetrack deeds of Monaco Consul.
An enigmatic galloper, Monaco Consul was a rough result for punters when he won the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick.
However, at his next start, he was favourite for the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) and this time produced a favourable result for punters with a dominant victory.
A bit hard to catch after a poor campaign in New Zealand, he showed glimpses of his old form with thirds in the Group 1 AJC Australian Derby (2400m) and the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).
His final run was a disappointing 14th in the Melbourne Cup (3200m), where he suffered a career-ending injury.
He was recently purchased by Nathan Tinkler’s Patinack Farm to stand as a sire next season.
The connections of So Divine will be hoping that she shows half the ability of her older brother – and with tomorrow’s race worth $8 000, she’ll only need to have a slice of his ability to recoup her amazing purchase price.
Written by Andrew Hawkins
