The Black Opal Stakes is the immediate mission for promising juvenile Butt I’m Ready an impressive winner at Rosehill this afternoon.
A member of the Gary Portelli stable, Butt I’m Ready has always shown connections good ability, but until now was yet to deliver it on raceday.
But that’s all changed now and the lightly raced son of More Than Ready broke his maiden status in style and pocketed his connections a cool $42,000 in prizemoney and another $20,000 in a BOBS bonus.
“He should have finished closer the other day,” Portelli said. “He got in a bit of trouble early and start over racing.”
“You could see the difference in the horse in the last week or so,” he added. “He’s much more relaxed.”
“He knows his stuff and he’s done the job.”
Portelli said what Butt I’m Ready is doing now is a bonus as he feels he will only get better as he matures.
“We always thought he’d be a nice three-year-old. He’s still immature and everything is a big game to him.”
‘We’ll probably have a crack at the Black Opal. He’s the ideal horse for that. He races handy and he’s got a bit of a turn of foot.”
“I’m sure that will be a nice race for him,” Portelli summed up.
Butt I’m Ready is a $150,000 purchase for leading Sydney agent Vin Cox from the draft of Baramul Stud at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The $250,000 listed Black Opal Stakes (1200m) will be run in Canberra on March 7.
The fifth winner for his dam, the stakes performed Danehill mare Pretty Buttons, Butt I’m Ready is by More Than Ready – the sire of the past two winners of the world’s richest juvenile race, the Golden Slipper.
Pretty Buttons has already proven her quality as a broodmare by producing the stakes performer L’espalier.
A placegetter in the Gimcrack Stakes in her own right, Pretty Buttons is a three quarter sister to the multiple group winner Dr Zackary.
Pretty Buttons’ dam, the twice city winning Luskin Star mare Ease on Down, is a half sister to four stakes performers including the Caulfield Guineas winner Centro.
Further back it is the family of Magic Millions’ Melbourne Cup hero Subzero.
Meanwhile, exciting freshman sire Stratum, himself a graduate of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, was represented by his fifth individual winner when Umgeton won at Bendigo.
From the stakes winning Racer’s Edge mare Edgeton, Umgeton was purchased for just $18,000 from the 2008 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale at the Gold Coast.
