Sadhbh scores popular maiden win

[Wandering Eyes]

Sadhbh scored a popular win at Te Rapa on Sunday when she broke through for her maiden victory in the Zappy – Send Couriers? Shipzappy.com 1500.

The five-year-old daughter of Darci Brahma was bred and is raced by renowned racing photographer Trish Dunell, who was delighted to see her win while on the tools at Te Rapa.

Dunell has taken a patient approach with her mare, who has just had the seven starts and has really come of age this preparation, placing in all three of her starts this time in before her weekend triumph.

Punters took note and backed her into $2.80 favouritism, and she didn’t disappoint, with jockey Opie Bosson taking the shortest way home to score by a nose over Intoxicated, giving former The Oaks Stud stallion Darci Brahma the quinella.

Trainer Pam Gerard was duly pleased to get the win and said she will improve over more ground.

“She probably needed blinkers on, which we put on her today, but you won’t see the best of her until she steps up to 2000m,” she said. “Opie said he was niggling her along the whole way, but once he gave her one behind the saddle she took off.

“She needs a better track too, but the weather has been pretty wet up here in the north and she’s been toughing it out to place on Heavy10 tracks.

“The ability’s always been there, but she’s been such a big filly and mare we’ve just had to wait for her.

“She’s learning to settle and run on, so is working it out to be a racehorse. She’s still got some filling out to do but come the autumn I think she’ll be pretty competitive in some nice races up in trip.

“I’m really pleased to have won a race for Trish. She’s bred a really nice mare from a lovely family and just loves her horses to bits.”

Sadhbh is regally bred, being out of Giant Mystique, a half-sister to former Singapore Horse of the Year War Affair, and is the dam of Group One performer Charles Road and stakes performer Cavallo Veloce.

“She (Sadhbh) was the last one, having lost the mum, so I was never going to sell her,” Dunell said.

Sadhbh has taken plenty of time to mature, having three starts as a three-year-old before a 16-month hiatus from racing and she returned in June a more developed horse and has run accordingly.

“She is quite tall and she just keeps on growing, even now,” Dunell said. “But she is just lovely.”

Dunell is excited about the future with her mare, particularly when she gets over further ground.

“She is really going to be a stayer,” she said.

“After that race, the girl who looks after her said that you wouldn’t have known she had a race at all, she was just so settled, and you couldn’t even hear her breathing she was so quiet.”

Dunell has also enjoyed recent success across the Tasman, with full-sisters Spylark and Halliwell tasting success for trainers Dane Smith and Jessica Tzaferis respectively, the latter having posted four successive victories over winter.

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