Flip has thrived over the spring months. No longer a baby, she is blooming into an outstanding yearling prospect and I am very proud of the role I've played in her development and for having backed myself. She was a backwards kind of weanling; sight unseen indeed.
In August she was visited by Inglis reps to view her for auction placement. My sale of choice was Inglis Premier at Oaklands. However, the feedback was not favourable given her presentation at the time. It was a bitter pill to swallow as she was one of the very first weanlings seen, diminishing her chances of presenting well by default. Looking at her in November, it is a real blow that we won't be able to sell at Prem.
This was also a good learning experience for me. Perhaps to pick a more forward weanling next time. And to organise a vendor farm ahead of time. I believe that if she was viewed as part of a draft that she would have been accepted. It is a wonderful page and she has so much physical potential.
That aside, she has a brilliant mind, with the correct attitude and the right amount of spice for a young racehorse. After her Inglis viewing, I tipped her out for a few months to just be a horse and eat and sleep and grow. But by mid/late October she started to indicate a bit of boredom. She's had a taste of a job having gone through a sales prep. So I bought her in for a 3-4 weeks to teach her some things and get her thinking.
And this is really where she shone; we bath nicely, we hard tie, we can be groomed and have all four of our feet handled and trimmed. We have learned to lunge and even have a makeshift girth around our belly. We have been on walks down the road and discovered terrifying things like rubbish bins. And we have hooned around our paddock showing off her outstanding and beautiful movement.
Bias aside, I truly believe in this filly. She's just one out of the box to me.
So from here, she is back in the paddock having gotten a small splint - more from the ground hardening up and her penchant for acrobatics than anything. Prep will begin late January/Early February.
Below is a progress comparison; the top image is the day she arrived on May 13th, the second from the 4th of November. Amazing stuff!
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