Babylon Berlin (All Too Hard) was the bridesmaid behind Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) and Levante (NZ) (Proisir) in the feature sprints last season and trainers Ben and Ryan Foote are hoping it is now her time to earn her elite-level crown.
The now six-year-old mare finished runner-up behind Imperatriz in the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) and Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m), and Levante in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m), and Foote has taken a lot of joy watching the former dominate the Melbourne feature sprints over spring.
“I might just send Mr Ellis (David Ellis, Te Akau principal) a bottle of spirits and ask if he can keep her there (Melbourne),” Ben Foote quipped.
With an eye towards the summer sprints, Babylon Berlin had a resuming trial at Te Rapa, comfortably winning her 900m heat.
“It was a good hit-out, she has been in work for a little while and I just wanted to see where her fitness was at,” Foote said.
“I told Courtney (Barnes, jockey) to keep punching her through the line to make sure she had a really good hit-out.
“She said she had a handful and was doing it pretty easy. We will just see how she pulls up.”
Babylon Berlin is on a path towards the Railway and Telegraph in January and Foote said he will now sit down and pick a path towards the summer features.
“The main targets are the Railway and the Telegraph, so whether we go to the Legacy Lodge (Listed, 1200m) or Counties Bowl (Gr.3, 1100m) we will just see,” he said.
