Surprising Rise of Clear Thinking in Australian Racing Scene
Sired by Leading Stallion, Overcoming Early Setback
The story of the four-year-old mare Clear Thinking is an intriguing one within the Australian horse racing landscape. Originally purchased as a broodmare prospect for Arrowfield Stud after being owned by Queen Elizabeth II, Clear Thinking has defied expectations and emerged as a promising racehorse under the tutelage of trainers Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich.
Clear Thinking was sired by leading English stallion Dubawi out of the Group 1-winning mare Sweet Idea, giving her a promising pedigree. However, she faced an early setback when a stifle cyst caused lameness issues. The training team identified a common surgical procedure to address the problem, and the mare has since flourished on the racetrack.
“Every horse we’ve ever done this to has raced and raced successfully and won races,” said co-trainer Paul Messara. “The cyst just fills in basically and away you go, so we did the surgery when she came out here, re x-rayed her a few weeks later and she was perfect, we haven’t had a problem with her since.”
Impressive Debut and Careful Progression
Clear Thinking’s debut performance was emphatic, as she stormed to an 8.2-length victory over 1000 meters at her home track in Scone. The stable is now carefully managing her progression, opting for a 1200m Class 1 race at Scone this Sunday rather than the more competitive Class 3 Highway Handicap at Randwick on Saturday.
“I think she just needs another kind of low-pressure race where she can be afforded to get a few things wrong because she doesn’t know what it’s all about yet,” Messara explained. “I just want to make sure she’s one hundred per cent before we take her to town.”
Change of Plans for Promising Broodmare
While Clear Thinking was originally slated for a stud career, her performances on the track have prompted a change of plans.
“She’s a really valuable broodmare proposition but we probably will race her on now, the original plan was to send her to stud this season and we thought we’d give her a bit of a try out and just see what we had but she’s probably exceeded what we first thought so it now it gives us the option to race on with her.”
The future for Clear Thinking remains open, with the trainers taking a patient and measured approach to her development.
“Run by run, we’ll probably give her one more run in the bush and if she comes through that well we may well go to a highway and eventually look for a little break with the intention of bringing her back, and if she keeps improving hopefully targeting some better races in the later part of the Spring.”
Enthusiasts of Australian horse racing will be closely following the progress of this intriguing mare as she continues her ascent in the industry.
🔗 Source