In Brief
- Talented three-year-old finds his mojo.
- Buyer almost missed the boat.
- Future bright for son of Moshe.
When Neil Walsh was looking to buy a couple of yearlings at the 2019 Tasmanian Magic Million Yearling sale, he set his sights on a youngster that had caught his eye in the catalogue.
Midway through the sales, Walsh had to leave the auction room to attend to an urgent phone call but when he returned to the sale ring the Moshe colt was on his way back to the stalls.
He was shattered when he thought he had missed a bargain when he saw the colt had sold for only $10,000, but thankfully his good friend, premier trainer Scott Brunton, had stepped in and was the successful bidder on the colt that was subsequently named Freak on a Lead.
The now gelded son of Moshe broke his maiden status in Devonport yesterday, scoring impressively with David Pires aboard.
Freak on a Lead ($1.80) settled third behind the leader Dadorable ($6) but when Pires eased him off the rail to challenge he quickly put the result beyond doubt to score by 1-3/4 lengths from Needarein ($13) with Banca Star (5) two lengths away third.
“Scott has taken his time with this horse, but he has come on in leaps and bounds this time in and I think he has a few more wins in him,” Walsh said.
“At the yearling sales I liked his horse more than most that I looked at, and I was gutted when I thought I’d missed him, but it all worked out well and he is raced by a terrific group of owners who I’m sure are going to have a lot more fun.”
Freak on a Lead, bred by Jenny Watson at McLeay Thoroughbreds, showed he was close to a win with a gallant second at his previous outing in Hobart two weeks earlier.
Watch Freak on a Lead win his maiden in Devonport on Sunday: