Kembla trainer Theresa Bateup has done her bit to ensure Kooringal Stud born, raised and retained pairing Final Spirit and Atossa kick off their respective careers with a win when they head to Nowra on Monday.
Both horses wear the bottle green Kooringal Stud colours that were carried to victory by their home-bred Asgarda in the $1 million ATC Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick in 2024.
Final Spirit ($8.50) steps out for the first in the Carpet Court Maiden Plate (1200m) while his lifelong companion Atossa ($13) makes her debut in the Tige’s Tiles Maiden over 1400m.
“They are both nice horses,” Bateup said.
“I have always had a lot of time for them. They’ve both had their little setbacks so it is nice to see them finally getting to the races.”
Final Spirit is from the first crop of Kooringal Stud (Wagga) resident sire, Sandbar, who has made a big impact with a relatively small number of foals.
A three-quarter-brother to Farnan, Sandbar was a stakes-winner both as a two-year-old and three-year-old.
In fact, the son of Snitzel contested the Golden Slipper and Golden Rose, finishing fourth in the latter to The Autumn Sun.
Final Spirit’s dam-sires read like a who’s who of champion stallions: I Am Invincible, Quest For Fame, Danehill, Baguette, Vain and Todman.
Despite those last three luminaries all being Golden Slipper winners, Final Spirit has a Melbourne Cup connection via his eighth dam Rainbird, who won the 1945 edition.
“Final Spirit, he’d had a little bit of a tendon injury as a younger horse I always thought a bit of him and he’s come well, so far, so good,” Bateup says.
“The trial was good and he is a horse that is just going to continue to improve with a little bit of racing experience.
“I think he will appreciate getting over a little bit further in time but to it is a nice starting point to kick off on Monday with a soft draw.
“He began quite well in the trial so he should sit behind the speed and I’ll be looking for him to be doing his best work late.”
Having trained the odd handy Prized Icon progeny herself, Bateup is adamant 1400m will play to the strengths, present and future, of Atossa at Nowra on Monday.
“They are just a breed that want time,” Bateup says. “They usually want time and ground.
“I did a preparation with Atossa and she went the paddock and got kicked in the hock and had an extended period of time out.
“She is a really nice mare and a typical Prized Icon who is going to appreciate getting up over a trip.
“She has drawn wide on Monday but that doesn’t really worry me. We are currently on a Soft 7 and typically at Nowra when it is wet, they get off the fence a bit anyway.
“And she probably doesn’t have an abundance of early speed.
“She is a horse I see settling back a little bit anyway and really working through the line strongly.”
Atossa is a thoughtfully-named mare.
A daughter of former Godolphin mare Persia, Atossa (born in 550 BC), is regarded as one of the most prominent women in the history of Iran.
Atossa’s grand-dam, Chinchilla, was also owned by Sheikh Mohammed and trained for a time by Lee Freedman.
She won a Seymour Maiden with Damien oliver riding on January 6, 2011, adding Listed races in Adelaide and Hobart at her next two and within the space of just 44-days.