Barnaby, the highly promising horse trained by Anthony 'Baba' Nunes, made a significant impact in anticipation of the upcoming US$250,000 Mouttet Mile with an impressive 17-length victory in the $1.25 million Alsafra Trophy held on Sunday.
With Omer Walker in the saddle, Barnaby started the race in mid-pack before powering ahead at the half-mile mark, displaying a remarkable pace that left competitors far behind. He completed the race in an impressive time of 1:31.0 (23.3 x 46.4 x 1:12.0 x 1:24.3) for the Overnight Allowance event, which was contested over seven and a half furlongs.
His performance was just shy of the track record of 1:29.2, set by Sky Train in 1983. Money Monster, trained by Richard Henry, and Mr. Senator, with Romario Spencer aboard, finished in second and third place, respectively.
Nunes expressed cautious optimism about Barnaby's strong showing but emphasized the challenges that lie ahead in the Mouttet Mile.
"It was a nice debut by Barnaby. But we have to be honest with ourselves, this was an Overnight allowance race and we didn't bring Barnaby here for this; we brought him for the Mouttet Mile," Nunes shared with this website.
“He is going to have to run against much better horses than he ran against today but this is a good starting point. Against real competition let’s hope that he can step up and perform just like them,” he added.
Despite the ease of his victory, Nunes praised Barnaby's talent and intelligence.
“He is clearly a talented horse. He has shown that from he has been here as in the mornings he works very well and he does everything we ask."
Nunes noted that Barnaby exhibited some nervousness in the saddling barn but highlighted his ability to adapt.
“He got a little nervous in the saddling barn but what I found with him is that he gets nervous with new experiences, but relaxes once he's familiar. Barnaby is very intelligent. Once he learns something, it is smooth sailing from here,” Nunes explained.
He also mentioned his strategy regarding Barnaby's training leading up to the race, specifically his decision to avoid fast workouts out of the gates.
“He didn’t break bad in the race. He broke alright. The truth is, I took him to the starting gates but I really never gave him a fast workout out of the gates. He ran six times before, and I didn’t want to rev him up in the mornings for this race,” Nunes stated.
Nunes’ main concern is to keep Barnaby healthy and sound as they prepare for the Mouttet Mile in three weeks.
“He will learn from this as well and the single most important thing is that we stay healthy and sound and have an opportunity in three weeks time,” Nunes concluded.
