Two prominent Freedman brothers returned to the winner’s enclosure together on the first day of The Championships at Randwick as Profoundly bolstered her Australian Oaks prospects by taking out the Adrian Knox Stakes.
Trained by Michael Freedman, the recent Kembla Grange Classic runner-up is co-owned by his elder brother, Hall of Fame conditioner Lee, who selected Profoundly at the sales, handled her initial preparation, and then shifted to manage Michael’s Gold Coast stable from last July.
“I bought her when I was training for $65,000,” Lee Freedman said.
“Then when I turned it up, I was looking for a good trainer, and my brother rang me.
“I was really happy that the form from Kembla worked out, because a lot of people were saying it was slowly run and it wouldn’t be good form.
“But I just knew that this filly had improvement to come, and we’d never run her over a mile-and-a-quarter. All she wanted to do was stay.”
Aboard for Tommy Berry, Profoundly ($5) surged clear to defeat Soverato ($3 fav) by 2-1/4 lengths, with Satono Invader ($51) a further 1-1/4 lengths back in third.
Michael Freedman plans to return the Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) victor to Randwick in a week’s time for the Group 1 Oaks (2400m), assuming she recovers strongly.
“Why not? I think we’ll be here next week,” Michael Freedman said.
The victory holds extra sentiment as Profoundly races in the iconic Freedman family silks of red with purple sash, white sleeves and purple cap, colours celebrated by past champions like 1992 Melbourne Cup winner Subzero, 1994 Golden Slipper triumph Danzero, and 2003 Caulfield Cup conqueror Mummify.
Tommy Berry expects to partner Profoundly again in the Oaks, confident in her stamina for the quick turnaround.
“She is a very clean-winded filly. She pulled up lovely then,” Berry said.
“She spends no petrol in the run, and she does it without any effort.”
Profoundly shortened to the second favourite in Australian Oaks betting markets at $4.50, trailing only New Zealand classic winner Ohope Wins on $2.20.
Explore the top Australian betting sites for the latest racing odds on Profoundly in the Australian Oaks.