Fully Lit announced not only himself at Rosehill on January 20, the two-year-old did a good job of also shining the spotlight on fledgling syndicator RedFox Racing.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained colt carried RedFox’s red and black colours to a win that elicited a much more raucous reaction than is standard for the opening race on the card.
Most involved in the Inglis Classic purchase have never raced a horse before, which is what has all involved so excited ahead of this Saturday’s $2 million Inglis Millennium, for which Fully Lit is favourite.
“We only bought him for $60,000 so he was a great bargain buy at that level which meant we were able to syndicate him quite cheaply,” RedFox founder and chief executive Tracey Rook said.
“We’ve got an amazing group of owners in him and most of them are first-time owners, so this journey for them has just been phenomenal.”
Fully Lit, a son of Hellbent and the Snitzel mare Sunlit, which makes him a half-brother to Group 3 BJ McLachlan Stakes winner The Novelist, made the perfect start to his career when he walloped his rivals by 2-3/4 lengths.
He had hinted he was above average with two trial second placings, but took things to a new level once he got to the races.
That performance didn’t shock Rook or RedFox bloodstock manager Bill Duncan, who saw enough in the Glenlogan Park product to overlook him being a little undersized.
“He was the perfect package, he was perfect conformation, he had beautiful legs and although he was on the smaller side he just had it all,” Rook said.
“What we saw 12 months ago, he was just exactly what he is now but only bigger.
“He almost made it to the Breeders Plate, he was two weeks off going to that race, but we just made the decision that although he was mentally there, he just needed to be that little bit more stronger physically so we put him out in preparation for where we are now.”
Fully Lit drew barrier 17 for Saturday’s 1100-metre race, in which he will be ridden by Regan Bayliss, but will come in a couple of slots if the two emergencies don’t gain a start.
“He’ll probably come into 15 and Learning To Fly won from that barrier last year,” Rook said.
“He’s well within himself. He’s been ticking along nicely ever since that run and he’s a no-fuss colt.”
Fully Lit will be racing for not only the $1,155,000 winner’s cheque in the Inglis Millennium, but also the $400,000 Inglis Pink Bonus that is on offer to the first horse home owned by least 75 percent female ownership.
That would come in handy with the 2024 version of the sale that Fully Lit was bought from to run from Sunday to Tuesday next week.
“We had a great sale at Classic last year and we’re really looking forward to going again Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to see what we can pick up this year,” Rook said.
“It’s a great sale for horses in that sort of price range.”