Essay Raider one to write down

After an encouraging three-and-a-quarter length barrier trial win back in January, the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained Bernardini gelding Essay Raider made his racetrack debut on 29 September with a demoralising five-and-a-half length victory over 1000m at Morphettville.

With many options as we head into the spring for Essay Raider, it would be no surprise to see the gelding head to Melbourne for some of the lucrative races over the carnival.

Obviously a class above his opposition, Essay Raider was bred by Toorak Park, raised at Mill Park and is out of the winning Zabeel mare Elegant Eagle. A sister to the dam of G1 Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed, Elegant Eagle comes from the family of G1 Golden Slipper winner Ha Ha as well as the multiple Stakes-winning Danehill gelding Dry Humour. Elegant Eagle has a full sister yearling to Essay Raider as well as having recently foaled a bay colt by Medaglia d'Oro.

Another Bernardini runner to impress recently was the two-year-old filly Ruud Awakening, a winner of one of the first juvenile races of the season in New Zealand, scoring by five-and-a-quarter lengths over 800m. Out of the Danehill mare Dawn Almighty, the filly is closely related to Stakes performers Chester County and Ruud Van Slaats.

The sire of five individual G1 winners including To Honor And Serve, Alpha and Stay Thirsty, Bernardini is the sire of an impressive 30 Stakes performers to date. Standing the current season at Darley Kelvinside at a fee of $55,000 (inc. GST), Bernardini has produced seven winners in the southern hemisphere highlighted by Stakes performers Boban, Meidung and Toydini.