Freedmans use Sunshine Coast as Spring launch pad for Post Impressionist

The Lloyd Williams-owned stayer was all the rage during a brief campaign for William Haggas in the autumn, but Post Impressionist aim up for new trainers in the spring after a Caloundra Cup kick-off on Saturday.

Melbourne Cup winners Anthony and Sam Freedman are looking to unveil another spring heavyweight in the form of Post Impressionist at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, but will need the weather.

The father and son duo have set up shop on the Sunshine Coast with a team of horses, however lost their headline act when the highly touted Royal Champion missed his winter campaign.

Lloyd Williams-owned stayer Post Impressionist, who made a huge impact during the autumn with a dominant first-up win for English trainer William Haggas, has since been transferred to the Freedmans to stay in Australia.

Sam Freedman said there were no concerns tackling the 2400m Listed Caloundra Cup first up, as long as it wasn’t a bottomless track at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.

A win like a work of art 🧑‍🎨

Post Impressionist gives @WilliamHaggas his third G3 N E Manion Cup win, with @TomMarquand aboard!@aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/wisRETsVQ7

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 23, 2024

• ‘I feared for my life’: Jockey’s racial abuse penalty downgraded

“Times are changing a bit in terms of that stuff (running a trip first up), it is his ideal trip and that’s what his form says,” Freedman said.

“If the track isn’t too heavy, we think he can really measure up.

“Lloyd was pretty big on maybe the horse doesn’t handle the really going.

“There’s not many options for a horse like him at this time of year, so it is the right race for him.”

Post Impressionist was a dominant winner of the N E Manion Cup in the autumn. Picture: Jeremy Ng—Getty Images.

• Cejay: The girl who grew up next to the track is now a star

The horse, a $26 chance in the Melbourne Cup with TAB and $3.90 favourite in the Caloundra Cup on Saturday, is the latest in a 35-year connection between Williams and the Freedman family.

“(Williams) said to dad the other day that he had his first horse with the family in 1989, so he has always been a great supporter of ours,” Sam Freedman said.

“They touched base with dad and said they had a few horses they think could aim up.

“Lloyd and Nick sent him our way following his campaign in Sydney for William Haggas.

“We have been filled in on the horse and started to get a good grip on him, but it is clear he is a high-class horse and that is seen when you start a short-priced favourite in a Group 1 like he did in the Tancred.

“Ideally, he is a top liner when it comes to the spring but we will sit down and have a chat about him.

“The Europeans can take a while to get really consistent form here, so we expect him to bounce back to what he can do.”

Originally published as Freedmans use Sunshine Coast as Spring launch pad for Post Impressionist