RYAN Balfour has his sights on the upcoming Adelaide Racing Carnival with exciting three-year-old pair of Outlaws Revenge and Tradewind, who step out at Morphettville on Saturday.
Outlaws Revenge has won his past three starts in impressive fashion and the horse’s ability saw the stable pay the highest price ever seen for filly at the Adelaide Magic Millions Yearling Sale, forking out $370,000 for a half-sister by Palentino.
“I’d seen her a fair bit prior to the sales, having been up and seen her a couple of times at the farm,” Balfour said.
“As soon as I saw her I thought she was a carbon copy of Outlaws Revenge.”
And the Morphettville trainer admitted he wasn’t going to leave the sales without her.
“We were hoping to get her cheaper but the competition was there for a reason,” Balfour said.
“In a year where sales a breaking a lot of records, it’s been super competitive and the ones you want you really have to chase.
“We had a big commitment from people within the stable leading into the sale which was fantastic and I did not want to leave the sale without her.
“The blood pressure was up, but we were confident in what we’re buying into and sometimes you have to back yourself in.”
Balfour said being a filly from a family that is showing plenty of talent made the decision to part with the high price much easier.
“I think you have to back yourself in a little more with the fillies as they have that residual value post-racing in the breeding barn,” he said.
Tradewind boasts the scalp of talented filly Echoes Of Eternity and hasn’t race since winning the VOBIS Gold Stockade at Ballarat back in November when he banked $117,250 for connections in the process.
Balfour said Saturday was hopefully the launching pad to a successful carnival for his growing Morphettville stable.
“It will be interesting what trip (Tradewind) gets to,” Balfour said.
“He could be a 1400m horse. Saturday is a kick-off point and then we’ll just weigh it up from there
“There are a lot of races locally but he’s always got the VOBIS Gold races as well.”
Balfour said both horses, who were beaten at their respective debuts, showed the benefit of racing during their first campaigns.
“Both horse got a bit lost early,” he said.
“When we had COVID restrictions there weren’t a lot of trials. They were having jump-outs but it just wasn’t the same. At their second runs both really improved, and the exciting thing with both horses is it’s all still in front of them.
“The obvious races for Outlaws are the local sprint races – the Redelva and Euclase.”
And there are plenty of opportunities within his stable for new owners.
“We’ve got some limited opportunities there in the babies,’’ Balfour said.
“But we’ve also got a couple of opportunities with some two-year-olds in the stable at the moment who are that year more advanced for when it comes to getting to the races for anyone interested.”
Image:
Outlaws Revenge strides to an impressive victory at Murray Bridge last month.
