Newitt looking forward to Anatola’s return
Craig Newitt is confident promising filly Anatola can measure up in better races than a winter handicap against her own age and sex.
The multiple Group One-winning jockey will partner the sprinter in a race for the first time in Saturday’s Sheen Group Plate (1100m) for fillies at Caulfield.
The well-bred Anatola did her early racing for the Peter Moody stable, winning two of her three starts earlier this year.
With the suspended Moody closing his training operation in March, Anatola is now with Mick Price and steps out for her first start since February.
Newitt, who has had a long and successful association with Price, has quickly formed a high opinion of the daughter of More Than Ready out of Group Two winner Wager.
“She’s very good,” Newitt said.
“She should be unbeaten, I think. Her first two starts were very impressive and when she ran third she didn’t have a great deal of luck.
“This is her first preparation with Mick and her gallops have been great and her trials have been super. She’ll be in the frame for a long way.
“I trialled her a couple of weeks ago and she ran second but I had plenty of horse left underneath me.
“She wasn’t there to have a gut buster. She’s a natural little running filly so she’ll be hard to beat on Saturday.”
Anatola won effortlessly at Stony Creek on debut in January before winning at Cranbourne.
She was the odds-on favourite for her metropolitan debut at Moonee Valley on February 5 but was swamped late and finished third.
She is the $3.60 favourite to make a winning start for Price on Saturday.
The Caulfield trainer has races such as the weight-for-age Group Three Sir John Monash Stakes and Group Three Bletchingly Stakes during July at Caulfield in mind for Anatola.
“Those sorts of races would be right up her alley,” Newitt said.