Black type for Tailleur
Tailleur (Shooting To Win) continued her impressive run of form with an all-the-way win in the G3 Triscay S.
The James Cummings-trained 4-year-old, who is in the mix for a start in the G1 Galaxy H., was well-rated by Kerrin McEvoy in the Robrick Lodge-sponsored event to account for Tricky Gal (Magic Albert).
Tailleur has quickly made her way through the grades with the tidy record of six wins from eight appearances and is a half-sister to the dual Group 3 winner Raiment (Street Cry {Ire}) and the family of the G1 Doncaster H. winner and sire Over.
Tailleur | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Guineas beckons
Talented mare Zou Dancer (Zoustar) opened her black-type account with a smart performance to win the G3 TAB Vanity at Flemington.
Trained by Leon and Troy Corstens, the filly has come a long way in a short time with three victories from her five appearances.
"I’d say you’d have to start looking at the Australian Guineas. We talked about it and we don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but we’ll have a talk to Jamie (Kah) and see what she thinks," Troy Corstens told Racing.com.
Job well done
Regardsmaree (So You Think {NZ}) is likely to be given a well-deserved break after posted another winning strike at Flemington.
The 4-year-old’s success in the Seppelt Wines Plate was the sixth of his 15-start career and trainer Nick Ryan believes he is a potential Group 1 performer.
“I think a race like the Sir Rupert Clarke S. in the springtime would be a really good race for him,” he said.
“It’s a handicap and he would get in with a lightweight and it’s on his home track here at Caulfield.”
Amarelinha back to best
Exciting galloper Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) bounced back to her very best after suffering a narrow defeat at her most recent start, when she captured the G2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies Classic at Te Rapa.
Trained by Jamie Richards for the Te Akau Hopskip'n'jump Syndicate, Amarelinha was sent out a NZ$1.40 favourite for the contest as punters believed she was a margin above her rivals after being beaten narrowly by Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}) in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic at Ellerslie.
Amarelinha (NZ)
“She is a really exciting filly and one we have held in high regard right from the time that David bought her at Karaka,” Richards said.
“She reminded us a lot of Probabeel and we didn’t race her as a 2-year-old, mainly due to copping COVID-19 at the back end of the season. She has more than made up for that this time in, as that was a pretty exciting win.”
Filly’s future unclear
The immediate future of Tokorangi (NZ) (Redwood {GB}), who showed her quality with victory in the G2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas at Te Rapa, has yet to be confirmed.
The filly is raced by a syndicate that includes prominent Australian owner Ozzie Kheir and is trained at Matamata by Michael Moroney and Pam Gerard.
Tokorangi (NZ)
“We’ll have a chat to the owners and she could go straight across the Tasman, but for me I’d like her to go to the Derby so we’ll see what happens,” Gerard said.
Tokorangi’s winning run in the Waikato Guineas saw her odds for the G1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby cut from NZ$18 to NZ$5 and co-second favourite behind NZ$4 market leader Rocket Spade (Fastnet Rock).
Fitting victory
The Jamie Richards-trained Festivity (I Am Invincible) was an appropriate winner of the Te Akau Shark – Farewell To A Legend, a race at Te Rapa named in honour of her former stablemate.
Dual Group 1 winner Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) recently passed away and Festivity did him proud with an impressive display.
“She’s very talented and we’ve taken her along quietly and it’s all falling into place now,” Richards said. “She’ll go to the G3 King’s Plate at Ellerslie in three weeks’ time.”
Festivity has now won five of her seven starts and gained a degree of compensation on Saturday as she had been a luckless fifth in the G3 Concorde H. at her previous appearance.
Golden performance
Gold Watch (NZ) (Swiss Ace) rounded off his current preparation in outstanding fashion with further success at Te Rapa.
His victory in the Waikato Stud 1400 was his fourth on the bounce and trainer Cliff Goss, 90, who believes he can make his mark at the top level.
“All he wants to do is win, he’s a very game horse. He’ll reach Group 1 company in the spring,” said Goss, whose daughter Cherry Taylor and husband Brent operate Trelawney Stud.
Tattersalls bonuses
Tattersalls has announced a new £250,000 (AU$446,380) Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus for graduates of its Craven Breeze-Up Sale, which is this year scheduled for April 13 and 14 at Park Paddocks, with the breeze over the Rowley Mile on April. 12.
Half of the bonus will be paid out to the connections of the first Craven Breeze-Up winner of any 2-year-old race at Royal Ascot, with £100,000 (AU$178,500) designated for the owner of the horse and £25,000 (AU$44,600) for the vendor.
The second half of the bonus, with the same owner/vendor split, will be paid to the first Craven Breeze-Up winner of a European Group 1 for 2-year-olds. The G1 Nunthorpe S. and G1 Prix de l'Abbaye, which are all-age and open to 2-year-olds, also qualify.
