Ardrossan’s De Armas now with Chris Waller

Royal Randwick staged several trials on Friday, 31 July, and among the horses that caught the eye was De Armas, a daughter of Ardrossan who was still a two-year-old at the time but turned three on 1 August.

De Armas raced in New Zealand for Jonno Benner, who had picked her up at the 2025 National Online Yearling Sale for $16,000. Bred by JML Bloodstock, she earned $126,250 across three starts in New Zealand, posting a perfect record of two wins from two runs before finishing fourth in the Karaka Millions 2YO.

Bloodstock agent Phill Cataldo, who was behind the deal to bring De Armas to successful syndicators OTI, has watched her development closely and rates her trial form highly.

“When you look at her performances, every time she has been out she has shown real brilliance,” Cataldo said.

“She had three trials, one before she raced and the other two between runs and blitzed them on all three occasions.

“She spaced them on debut, then two months later won easily at Listed level going right-handed for the first time.

That form included a tough run in the Karaka Millions, where luck wasn’t entirely on her side but she still finished with the fastest closing sectionals in the race.

“The rub of the green went against her in the Karaka Millions, covering ground but she was still good enough to run the fastest closing 400m and 200m sectionals, which was a top performance under the circumstances,” Cataldo said.

She’s the better of two winners produced by Regal Winks, a granddaughter of G2 winner Soleil Rouge. The family has thrown up plenty of Group winners over the years, among them G1 HK International Sprint winner All Thrills Too — pedigree that lines up with Cataldo’s assessment of her as a serious talent.

“To me she is the best two-year-old filly going forward. Her athleticism and scope excites me, as does the physical improvement she has to come,” he said.

“She’s a class act with a great stride and bombproof temperament.”

De Armas has now had two trials under Chris Waller in the colours of OTI Racing, having been imported into Australia on 16 February. She made her local debut on the trial circuit at Royal Randwick on 20 July, backing that up with another trial on 31 July. It’ll be worth watching closely to see where OTI and master trainer Chris Waller decide to launch her Australian racing career — with Cataldo already looking ahead to spring targets.

“I see her as an ideal filly for the Princess Series in Sydney in the Spring. No doubt she will run 1600m and possibly further,” he said.

“She has been magnificently prepared by Johno Benner and now goes to Chris Waller, so from one top trainer to another. I’m sure she will represent OTI and the NZ suffix with distinction.”