Rope Them In took over as the chief earner for Champion WA Sire Playing God this season when he split runners in the straight for jockey ‘Shooter’ McGruddy to land the Bluff Knoll (1099m) at Albany.
Trained by managing part-owner Steve Wolfe, he banked first prizemoney of $165,000 in the Great Southern on Sunday to boost his 2024-25 earnings to more than $461,000. That bettered the previous PB for Playing God held by G1 Railway Stakes runner-up Comfort Me ($421,000).
Rope Them In (Photo / Western Racepix) had won the G3 Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m) at Ascot in November to become the 22nd black-type winner for the record-breaking resident of Darling View Thoroughbreds.
He followed up with a flashing-light fourth a fortnight later in the G1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m). “What a horse and what a ride!” Wolfe said. “He’s genuine and we’ve had a high opinion of him from the start. We haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s very classy and hopefully he can take the next step in the Quokka.”
The $5 million Quokka (1200m) will be run at Ascot on April 26. “It’s very exciting and we’re privileged to have the TABtouch slot,” Wolfe continued. “We were pretty lucky TABtouch picked him because there wasn’t a lot of interest early on and they had several choices.
“It’s great for Albany and it’s great to be able to represent the slot and town with a good horse. I hope he can do us proud.”
Rope Them In (4g Playing God – Lead Rope by Real Jester) was bred by Noel Carter, his brother Peter and son Duran along with Matt Marlow and was sold through Willaview Park (as agent) for $80,000 at the 2022 Perth Magic Millions. He led home a Playing God quinella in the Bluff Knoll from Divine Belief who was also a Willaview Park graduate from the 2021 Perth Magic Millions when making $130,000 to the bid of trainer David Harrison.
Playing God burst through $5 million in earnings this term when the Wolfe-trained mare Warralea Lass won the Belhus Racing Hcp (2100m) at Ascot on Saturday. He was also in the frame earlier on Sunday when Modelistic won again in the Wellington & Reeves Rural Sales Hcp (1900m) for trainer Neville Parnham and Mungrup managing owner-breeder Gray Williamson.
