Bott wait, there’s more: Tulloch Lodge keeps rolling out the young guns

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have never sat down and looked at their stellar juvenile team this season and thought they have something really special; it has been a case of letting it develop.

Tulloch Lodge has won 17 two-year-old races for the season, including the three $1 million-plus contests and six stakes races, and the biggest part of the season is to come in the next couple of months.

Espionage gets over the top of Straight Charge in the Breeders’ Plate ast Randwick in September.

The team is headed by unbeaten Magic Millions winner Storm Boy, which has been sold to Coolmore in a deal that could eventually top $60 million; Shangri La Express, the Golden Gift winner; and Inglis Millenium victor Fully Lit. In terms of prizemoney, they are all almost assured of places in the Golden Slipper field.

Silver Slipper contenders Espionage and Straight Charge are not far behind them, and filly Lady Of Camelot, which will look to continue Tulloch Lodge’s sweep of big two-year-old races in Saturday’s Blue Diamond at Caulfield.

“We didn’t sit down and say, ‘gee these are a good bunch of two-year-olds’, it just happened,” Bott said.

“We obviously had a good bunch early with the trifecta in the Breeders Plate [Espionage, Straight and Prost] and got those early wins; then Storm Boy came through, and it has just continued to flow from there.

“There is some form of opinion from the time you purchase them, but that has to be confirmed on the track and on raceday ,and that’s what is happening this year.”

Waterhouse and Bott have to decide the path to Golden Slipper for up to seven or eight runners, and the results give confidence to the team.

“It is like putting a puzzle together. As you get more pieces in place, the more information you have, and the information we have is pretty good at the moment,” Bott said.

Tulloch Lodge has had a couple of two-year-old triple crown winners in the past: Dance Hero, which like Storm Boy came through the Magic Millions; and superstar Pierro, which won the Breeders Plate and headed straight to the Silver Slipper, which is what Espionage is following.

Espionage has had a lower-key preparation but could hit the headlines on Saturday.

“At each stage Espionage has ticked the boxes we have wanted, really from the time he first came into the stable, and then he won the Breeders Plate,” Bott said. “And that form has really stood up since.

“We thought Espionage was the type of horse that a break would suit, and this race was the one we picked out for him back then.

“On Saturday, we find out what sort of improvement he has made, but the signs are good from his work and barrier trials.”

It is a measured approach from Bott – he leaves the predictions to training partner Waterhouse – but the Silver Slipper market tells punters that he is likely to be holding up the trophy on Saturday. Espionage is $2.50 favourite and Breeders runner-up Straight Charge at $2.90.

“We had targeted Straight Charge at the Magic Millions but he got a temperature spike after his good win at Randwick and he had a week or so out, but has come back and won a barrier trial in good style,” Bott said.

“He has also always been a very good colt and keeps improving, which is important with two-year-olds. We will see how far they have come on Saturday.”

With so many good ones for different owners including the biggest studs in the country – Coolmore, Yulong and Kia Ora – Bott keeps his opinion of which one is the best to himself but knows the next month will be exciting.

“There is a long way to go yet, but we are in a good place to have a number of runners in the Slipper,” Bott said. “We all know that with two-year-olds things can change quickly.”

He will watch from Sydney as Widden Stakes winner Lady Of Camelot represents the stable in the Blue Diamond.

“It was the right option for her. She could have gone to a fillies lead-up, but the Blue Diamond will give her a chance to get a group 1 and lift her value again,” Bott said.

“It will also give her a good chance to come back to Sydney for the Golden Slipper.

“She, like Espionage and Straight Charge, was a natural early on and is very fast. After that win in the Widden Stakes, she has lifted again in her work on the track.

“She has a good draw, which was important and will take some beating.”

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