Marabi romps at Ballarat
Undefeated mare Marabi (I Am Invincible) extended her perfect record to four-from-four with a scintillating performance in Saturday’s A Grade Sheds H. at Ballarat.
Ridden by Ben Allen for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, the 5-year-old blasted clear in the straight to score by 7l.
Eustace suggested the Listed Christmas S. at Caulfield on Boxing Day and the G3 Standish H. at Flemington two weeks later could be possible summer targets.
“That was pretty impressive,” he said.
“To be honest we were a little bit concerned leading into the run. She had probably been slightly less explosive at home, and probably just being an older mare, she’s grown up a little bit and done a lot of her work on wet tracks. You don’t expect a horse to do that in any race, but she was very impressive.
“We can make a serious plan for a prep now that she’s gone and done that.”
Eleven Eleven completes Schiller's double
With a perfectly timed finish aboard Eleven Eleven (Fastnet Rock) to take out Saturday’s inaugural $300,000 The Warra at Kembla Grange, apprentice jockey Tyler Schiller recorded his first Saturday metropolitan winning double.
Having also scored aboard Dragonstone (Mikki Isle {Jpn}) earlier in the day, Schiller brought Eleven Eleven home with a spectacular burst from well back in the field, charging past the favourite Malkovich (Choisir) to win by 0.3l.
“It was hard enough to get the first one, and to get a double today is really special,” Schiller said. “They were humming along early and I was panicking a bit, thinking I was too far out the back.
“But he just kept tracking into it and when I got him into clear running, he showed an enormous turn of speed and he ran them down pretty comfortably.”
Trainer Greg Hickman reported that Eleven Eleven will now be aimed at the Gold Coast’s Magic Millions raceday on January 15. The big-money meeting has been a happy hunting ground for Eleven Eleven, who was promoted from second to first in the R. Listed Magic Millions 3YO Guineas in 2020 before winning the Magic Millions Cup earlier this year.
“I don’t know what it is about this time of year,” Hickman said. “He has done it the last couple of years, and again the horse looks super at the moment. It’s great prizemoney, he has won twice up there, so why wouldn’t you?”
Back-to-back Bowls for Levante
History repeated at Te Rapa on Saturday as classy Kiwi sprinter Levante (NZ) (Proisir) kicked off a new campaign with a slick win in the Listed Haunui Farm Counties Bowl.
The Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare produced a brilliant last-to-first performance in the same race last year at Pukekohe Park, and despite a weight increase from 53kg to 59.5kg, the result was the same in 2021. Ridden by Ryan Elliot, the 5-year-old scored by 0.8l and clocked 1:02.87 for 1100 metres.
“I was very pleased to see her jump and put herself there, because it’s been a problem for her when she gets back,” Ken Kelso said. “She jumped away cleanly and got forward, which was a big help.
“She’s very bright and very well, so you have to be happy with that. She might go straight to the Railway now. Last year she had a trial in between times, so we may elect to do that again.”
Levante placed behind Avantage (Fastnet Rock) in last season’s G1 Railway S. at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day. She won the G2 Westbury Classic at the same course later in January, and she has now had 12 starts overall for eight wins and two placings.
Gosford Guineas goal for Dragonstone
An impressive first-up win in Saturday’s Canadian Club H. at Kembla Grange has put Dragonstone (Mikki Isle {Jpn}) on course for a shot at stakes company.
Now with two wins and two placings from his name from only four career starts, the 3-year-old gelding will be aimed at the Gosford Guineas on December 29.
“I will get in trouble from some of the owners for calling him small and plain, but that’s what he is,” trainer Mark Newnham said. “But he ain’t small and plain when you watch him work, or when you watch him race like that. He’s a really promising little horse. He’s got a really good turn of foot.
“I planned to have him third-up into the Gosford Guineas at the end of December. It looks a nice little target race for him and then maybe give him a little break before the autumn.”
Parnham rides early stakes double
Jockey Chris Parnham has made a strong start to the biggest few weeks of the year in Perth, riding the first two stakes winners on Railway S. Day at Ascot on Saturday.
Parnham guided Flying Missile (Cable Bay {Ire}) to a 0.1l victory in the Listed Tabtouch Placid Ark S. for his father Neville, then brought the Lou Luciani-trained Hot Zed (Red Hot Choice) home by the same margin in the Listed Carbine Club of WA S.
Coffey caps big week
Jockey Harry Coffey added a winning glow to a special week with victory aboard Ocean Beyond (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) in Saturday’s Hertz Ballarat Tonks Plate at Ballarat.
Coffey married his partner Tayla in Swan Hill last weekend, and made his return to riding at The Valley on Friday night before Ballarat’s big meeting on Saturday.
“I was a bit rusty, but the horse made me look good,” Coffey said. “He has a really good turn of foot, especially if he’s held up. Even though it doesn’t look pretty sometimes, when that gap comes, he can really be explosive through it.”
Passed in at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale with a reserve of NZ$60,000, Ocean Beyond has won three of his eight starts and $211,925 in stakes.
Man Crush delivers
The Luke Fernie-trained Man Crush (Manhattan Rain) took a big step forward at Ascot on Saturday and landed the $100,000 Magic Millions Crystal Slipper S. at his second career start.
Bought by Peter Fernie for $45,000 at the Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale, the colt had finished sixth on debut over the same course and distance two weeks ago. Saturday brought a big improvement as Man Crush got the better of the front-running Revitup (Demerit) and scored by 0.2l.
Bred by Kingarth Pty Ltd, Man Crush is by Manhattan Rain out of Crushed (All Too Hard), a placed daughter of G1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ S. winner Juice (NZ) (Bertolini {USA}).
Magic Millions possible for Aquagirl
A trip to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions raceday is a possibility for Aquagirl (Headwater) after winning Saturday’s Magic Millions 3YO and 4YO Classic at Ballarat.
The Phillip Stokes-trained mare edged out Easy Single (Not A Single Doubt) by 0.2l, recording the fourth win of her 16-start career. She has also picked up four placings, including a third in the G3 Quezette S. at Caulfield in August of last year.
Bought by Dalziel Racing, Peter Moody and Phillip Stokes for $55,000 from the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Aquagirl has earned more than $222,000 in stakes.
“I’ll have a chat to Phillip and see where we go next,” syndicator Wylie Dalziel said. “Possibly the Gold Coast, but she is a black-type-placed mare and worth quite a bit of money now. We paid $60,000, and she’s really well bred with a Group 3-placing to her name.
“I know that Moods and Stokesy aren’t big on taking mares to the Magic Millions, it’s hot and all that, so we’ll reassess, but it was a fantastic win. There’s a great bunch of owners involved, and they’ll be rapt.”
Bumper day for Weatherleys
The father-son combination of trainer Darryn Weatherley and jockey Sam Weatherley teamed up for a terrific day at Te Rapa on Saturday.
From four runners on the nine-race card, the team shared three superb wins with Champagne Princess (NZ) (Bachelor Duke {USA}), Bea A Roca (NZ) (El Roca) and Mali Ston (NZ) (El Roca).
“To have three on a day, and especially on a super day like today, is indescribable really,” Darryn Weatherley said. “I said with some of my golf mates yesterday that I’d be happy to run in the money. With the way the form throughout the card was shaping up, I thought it would take a big effort to win a race.”
