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    • Ben, Will and JD Hayes know a thing or two about the juvenile progeny of Per Incanto, and they unveiled another exciting son of the Little Avondale Stud stallion in Melbourne’s first two-year-old race of the season on Saturday. The Lindsay Park team took out the A$175,000 Listed Darley Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (1000m) at Flemington with Eurocanto (Per Incanto), who is by Per Incanto out of the Savabeel mare Shespending (NZ). Eurocanto’s perfect debut came just under three years after the Hayes brothers saddled another Per Incanto first-starter, Little Brose, to finish second in the Gr.3 Maribyrnong Plate over the same course and distance. Little Brose went on to capture the Gr.1 Blue Diamond (1200m) and Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) and is currently standing his first season alongside his sire at Little Avondale. Comparisons are inevitable after Eurocanto’s heroics on Saturday, where he launched a brilliant finish from the back of the field in the hands of jockey Mark Zahra. Eurocanto still had only two horses behind him with 150m to run, but he stretched out powerfully down the outside to finish over the top of Streisand (Magnus) and snatch victory by a half-head. “It’s a little bit early for comparisons, but he was a little bit ‘Brosey’ there,” JD Hayes said. “It was a terrific ride. He got last crack at them and he attacked the line, which is what you like to see. It was a professional performance. “We’ll see how he pulls up and it would be tempting, all systems go to head into Cup Week (for the Maribyrnong Plate). But first and foremost, we’ll see how he is first thing in the morning.” Eurocanto’s performance made a big impression on Zahra. “To be honest, I usually don’t like riding two-year-olds too early,” he said. “But I always pick up the phone when the Hayes brothers call, because they’ll usually identify one that they’re happy with and they want me to trial it. It is a good process, and if I like the horse, I’ll stick with it. “That is what happened with this guy. I trialed him twice and liked him two times, and he’s got the job done today. “His manners in the barriers left a little bit to be desired, but I just left him alone. It is a tough test first-up up the straight over 1000m and I like to be the last one on the scene. He did that well. He was able to travel up behind them and then showed good grip late to win. I was able to come down the middle and quicken, which is hard for them to do without a rail. Good effort and well-trained.” Eurocanto was bred by Evergreen Stud Farm and is out of a full-sister to the Listed Lonhro Plate (1000m) winner Tilianam. The third dam is Waikato Stud’s Group Three-winning and Group One-placed O’Reilly mare Splashing Out (NZ), who produced the Group winners Splurge (NZ) (Savabeel), Shopaholic (NZ) (Pins) and Packing Eagle (NZ) (Pins). Splashing Out is a three-quarter-sister to the multiple Group One winner and sire Sacred Falls. Lindsay Park secured Eurocanto for A$250,000 from the 2025 Gold Coast Yearling Sale. “He was picked out by our sales team up at the sales,” he said. “Dean Hawthorne does a terrific job. We really liked this colt, and we’ve had good success with the stallion. He’s an athletic style of horse with plenty of improvement to come and it was good to be able to kick off his career in that fashion.” View the full article
    • Quality mare Hi Yo Sass Bomb (NZ) (Complacent) showed she is in for another plentiful spring campaign when she exploded over the final 150m to storm over the top of her female rivals and score a stunning victory in the feature race at Hawera on Saturday, the Gr.3 Grangewilliam Stud Breeders Stakes (1400m). Kim Reid’s now seven-year-old daughter of Complacent has fashioned a top-class record over the past two years including a runner-up finish behind Snazzytavi (NZ) (Tavistock) in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) alongside a win in the Gr.3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m) and numerous honest efforts in elite company. Reid gave her a lengthy summer break after finishing well back in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) in early January and brought her back to the trials at Foxton in August where she ran third over 1000m before winning her second trial over the same distance a fortnight later. Expected to perform creditably first-up over 1400m at Otaki last month, a seventh out of eight effort had Reid scratching her head somewhat before tackling Saturday’s Group Three feature as her second-up target. The application of blinkers and a deteriorating Heavy10 surface that had copped plenty of rain during the week and again on raceday played into her hands as rider Chris Dell had her trucking along beautifully on the rails behind a slow pace set-up by race favourite Mary Shan (NZ) (Almanzor) ($2.90). Dell angled Hi Yo Sass Bomb across heels at the 500m and followed eventual runner-up Rareza (NZ) (Exosphere) into the contest before burying her rivals with a powerful burst that carried her to a one-and-a-half-length victory. Reid, who co-owns the mare in conjunction with her parents Josephine and Graeme, cut an emotional figure after the race. “I just love this horse, as I know she is a champ,” Reid said. “Last start was really disappointing and I knew she was behind the eight ball. “When she is on she is on and so deserves this, it really means a lot. “She is sassy but classy and really gets her game face on. Today she was really cool and calm and that is what she gets like on raceday (at her best). “I’ve been saying all week I was ninety percent happy with her and there was still ten percent to go, so we will see how she is over the next few days and decide where to go from there.” Dell admitted it was a strangely run race due to the lack of a true pacemaker, although he didn’t want to be as handy as he was in the early running knowing she has a devastating sprint when saved for a last run from the back. “She has been jumping and putting herself there at the trials and when she jumped and wanted to be there I was okay with it,” he said wryly. “If you look at the way the races have been playing they have been flying down the outside. I wasn’t in the greatest spot and wanted to get off (the rail) as soon as I could and luckily got the drag into it behind Sam Collett (Rareza). “She is a class horse who has been competitive at the top level and her class got her there today. “When she has won she has won with authority and that has what she has done today.” Bred by the Reids, Hi Yo Sass Bomb has now had six wins and four placings from her 25 starts, earning $392,770 for her connections. View the full article
    • Who Knows (NZ) (Redwood) was runner-up in a time-honoured Riccarton feature at the beginning of the season, and she earned favouritism for another one with an emphatic victory in the Weir Tours Egmont Cup (2100m) at Hawera on Saturday. The $60,000 open handicap was the fifth win from only a 16-start career for the Redwood mare, who has placed on another four occasions, including a second behind Chase (NZ) (Zed) in the Gr.3 128th Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on August 2. Wanganui trainer Niall Quinn is eyeing a return to Christchurch for the Gr.3 162nd New Zealand Cup (3200m) on November 15, for which the TAB now rates her a $9 market leader alongside I’m A Dirty Rascal (Galileo) and Titicaca (NZ) (Tarzino). Saturday’s Egmont Cup success was a notable training performance by Quinn, with Who Knows having been away from the raceday scene since finishing fourth in the Heatstore Open Handicap (1800m) on the final day of the Grand National Carnival at Riccarton on August 9. She had made a solitary trials appearance in between times, finishing fourth over 1200m at Foxton on September 16. But the six-year-old’s quality shone through on Saturday. Who Knows was given a perfect run by jockey Kate Hercock, who took up a position in fifth behind Tobias (NZ) (Complacent), Solidify (NZ) (Redwood), Wheelitin (NZ) (Ekraar) and Royal Flower (NZ) (Proisir). The leading pair had a margin of at least two lengths on their nearest rival for the majority of the race, and they seemed to be travelling as well as anyone coming up to the home turn. But Hercock never panicked. She angled Who Knows to the outside of the leading pair and drove her home over the top of them down the straight. Who Knows drew away in the closing stages to beat Tobias by two and a quarter lengths. Solidify was the same margin away in third. “We’re really happy with that,” Quinn said. “I was hoping for a better track today. I would have been a bit more confident if it had been a Soft6 instead of a Heavy9. I thought it might be a bit testing for her, since it had been a while between runs. But we were quite happy with her work at home. “There was a bit of speed on today. Kate got her in a good spot, and then she finished it off well. There’s still a bit of improvement left in her too. “We’ll probably give her one more run between now and the New Zealand Cup. We won’t have to do too much with her between times. It’s a bit tricky to place her, there aren’t a lot of options in the Central Districts, but we’ll look to give her one more run towards the end of this month.” Who Knows was bred by Harry Parslow and has now earned $153,735 for owners the Fast Horses Syndicate. Who Knows is out of the Zabeel mare Bello Cappello (NZ), who is a daughter of the Gr.1 Kelt Capital Stakes (2040m) and Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) winner Cinder Bella (NZ). View the full article
    • Enigmatic stayer Diamond Jak (NZ) (Jakkalberry) was on his best behaviour for the second start in a row when he strode clear in the closing stages to capture the Russell & Yvonne Green Memorial (2000m) at Matamata. The Jakkalberry seven-year-old has kept both his trainer Mark Brosnan and various jockeys on their toes with his barrier manners on occasion, but has never lacked real ability with his mind fully on the job, as he showed once again with a determined performance to register his seventh career victory. Fresh off a classy victory over 2100m at Ellerslie last month, Diamond Jak relished the Heavy10 underfoot conditions as rider Opie Bosson had him away cleanly in the seven-horse field before positioning him against the rail behind mid-field in the early stages. The action began to heat up at the 600m as race favourite Agera swooped around the outer to hit the front rounding the home turn. Bosson was well aware of the threat and quickly had Diamond Jak off the fence and into the clear on Agera’s (NZ) (Complacent) inner as the pair went head to head at the 300m. Diamond Jak asserted his superiority and burst clear before comfortably holding out the late runs of Rosetown Princess (NZ) (Redwood) and What A Charma (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) for a comprehensive win. Brosnan admitted he was in two minds as to what lay ahead for his charge who prefers the wetter conditions but had also won well on a much firmer Ellerslie surface last time. “He is running really well,” Brosnan said. “I don’t know what to do with him now, whether to turn him out or keep him in work. “There is a mile and a half (2400m) race at Te Rapa on Labour weekend. He likes Te Rapa so we might go there. “I also keep telling him he will be going jumping but he keeps pulling one out of the bag!” Bosson was pleased with the effort and the way his mount had handled the very testing Heavy10 conditions. “He is really in the zone at the moment and always travelled like the winner throughout,” he said. “I managed to cut the corner and while it is hard work out here, he got through it nicely.” Bred and owned by Gary and Linda Hodel, Diamond Jak has now won seven of his 35 starts and over $263,000 in prizemoney. View the full article
    • Speedy mare I’munstoppable (NZ) (Charm Spirit ) never gave her rivals a look in as she maintained a powerful gallop in front throughout to capture the Colchester Engineering Ltd (1200m) on her home track at Matamata. The former Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) winner hadn’t been seen on raceday for nearly 300 days after finishing last of eleven at Te Rapa back in December last year. Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott backed off her when she didn’t come up as well as they would have liked for an autumn campaign and that worked nicely in her favour as she made her spring debut on Saturday with two soft trial runs in August under her belt. A noted pacemaker, the daughter of Charm Spirit pinged away from the starting gates and made every post a winner as visiting Australian apprentice Sage Duric used her 4kg claim to good effect in having her mount clear of her rivals by nearly five lengths rounding the home bend. With Duric sitting as quiet as a church mouse, I’munstoppable never looked like being caught as she hit the finishing line still more than four lengths to the good of Moneypenny (NZ) (Proisir) and Latrelle (NZ) (Redwood) on the testing Heavy10 surface. Scott explained the circumstances of her long break away from racing which included a false start to her new campaign just a week ago. “We brought her back last autumn and she just wasn’t there,” Scott said. “She was off in her coat so we gave her a long break. We had her in last Saturday (at Te Rapa) where she was ready to go, but she banged her leg and we had to pull her out. “That was a great ride from young Sage as we said hug the rail and stay right in as there is a quick lane there. “She (I’munstoppable) held a strong gallop and you have to remember she won the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes which takes a good horse to win. “We hope to find a couple of nice races like this for her before Christmas, as with some give in the ground she is going to win a few more.” Duric, the daughter of Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) winning rider Vlad Duric, was all smiles as she brought up her first win at her seventh ride in New Zealand. “She was a little bit keen in front and I thought we might be going a little bit too quick, but to her credit she travelled the whole way for me and never came off the bridle,” she said. “She obviously loves the ground and with the 4kgs off she was very hard to beat. “She always travelled and was happy where she was. I knew it would be hard to make up ground on that track and she proved too good.” Bred and raced by John MacLachlan and his wife Julie-Anne, I’munstoppable is out of their Rip Van Winkle mare Sisterella (NZ), who is a daughter of Gr.2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2000m) placegetter Arabian Nights (NZ). She has now won four of her twelve starts and more than $122,000 in prizemoney. View the full article
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