TENENBAUM OPENS NEW SEASON IN WINNING FORM

WEDNESDAY: August 26, 2026: TENENBAUM may get his chance sooner rather than later to add a Group 1 triumph to his classic pedigree.

Hawkesbury’s premier trainer Brad Widdup was understandably relieved to get the high-priced yearling buy off to a winning start in his three-year-old season at Canterbury today.

Ridden by Chad Schofield, Tenenbaum ($2.05 favorite) had no trouble carrying 61kg topweight against his own age to comfortably defeat four rivals in a Benchmark 64 Handicap (1200m).

That was his first start since finishing fourth, with definite excuses, as a $1.22 hotpot in the 2YO Clarendon Stakes (1400m) at his home track’s Saturday metropolitan stand-alone fixture on May 2.

“His ability was never in question, but you want to see them come out and do what he did today,” Widdup said this evening.

“Especially after Savvy Hallie ran well below her best when also resuming at Royal Randwick last Saturday.”

Tenenbaum (Snitzel – C’est Beau La Vie) is a younger brother to Hong Kong Derby winner Cap Ferrat, who began his career in Sydney with Chris Waller and was placed in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) two years ago.

At $750,00, he is the dearest yearling Mike Gregg’s Mulberry Racing has purchased for Widdup to train.

But the experienced Hawkesbury horseman had no pre-conceived plan to secure him until he saw the colt at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter yearling sale.

“He struck me straight away as a nice horse, but I knew nothing about his family pedigree until we got down to the nitty gritty about trying to buy him,” Widdup said.

“Of course you never want to pay as much for any horse as he cost, but you have to if you are trying to get a good colt.”

Tenenbaum has now won two of his only four starts – rather ironically on smaller tracks such as Wyong and Canterbury – and gives the impression roomier circuits will suit him even better.

“Tenenbaum is straight forward to train and has a good temperament,” Widdup said.

“He’s big enough but not overly big, and we’re hoping he will get further.

“The Golden Rose could be on the agenda for him because the handicapper, after his win today with a big weight, will be pointing us toward these good races.”

The $1m Golden Rose (1400m) for three-year-olds at set weights will be run at Rosehill Gardens on September 26.

Widdup didn’t baulk at kicking Tenenbaum off on a ‘Heavy 8’ surface, but said he would not have run him had Canterbury been a ‘Heavy 10’.

Tenenbaum was Widdup’s sixth winner in the first month of the new season, and his 491^st as he closes in on a career 500.