Petagna juggernaut continues

[Chief Stipe]

After enjoying a successful day at Te Aroha on Saturday with Group One winner Nicoletta and promising three-year-old Santa Catarina, owner Lib Petagna and his familiar lime, blue and gold colours were to the fore again on Sunday when speedy two-year-old Ramazzotti scored over 800m on debut at Pukekohe.

The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Per Incanto filly showed speed from a mid-field barrier to take control of the race and never gave her rivals a look in as she cruised home to score by a length and a half in the hands of rider Matt Cameron.

In a race dominated by the debutants, local runner Super Pursuit made up good ground late after missing the jump to finish second with race favourite Blitzabeel also closing nicely for third.

“Gate speed and professionalism, that was the key,” Forsman said.

“She had a bit of trial experience before Christmas, had a break and then trialled up really well leading into this.

“We thought she could do that today. She has plenty of speed and the way she does things so professionally, I’m sure she will have a few wins yet.

“We will have to have a look at some black-type and I think she will get through tracks a bit slower than this which will be a big assist over the next couple of months.”

Bred and owned by Lib Petagna, Ramazzotti is the first foal of O’Reilly mare, Suzie The Cat who is a daughter of American mare Nursey Rhyme, the half-sister to multiple stakes winner Mud Route and from the family of the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and successful stallion, Success Express.

Showcasing filly Intrigue provided her connections with plenty to think about when she dominated her three-year-old rivals when scoring over 2100m in the second race of the day.

The Tony Pike-trained runner had looked promising when breaking her maiden status over 1600m at Te Aroha last start and franked that form with a slick home-straight sprint to race to an easy three-length victory.

Stable representative Dean Williams admitted there had been plenty of confidence in the camp as he revealed the filly could be headed to Brisbane for the Queensland Winter Carnival.

“She’s progressed well since her last win and we were pretty confident with her coming into today,” Williams said.

“The step up to 2100m suited as well.

“With that, if she comes through it well, she might end up in Brisbane.

“She’s a really laid-back filly who takes a bit of winding up. When she jumps, she can be a bit slow away and do things wrong, but we think she is a very handy filly.”

“We are hoping to take a few over to Brisbane and she could be an Oaks (Gr.1 2400m) contender.”

Intrigue races in the colours of part-owner Mark Wyborn who was successful in the 2016 Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2400m) with the Pike-trained Zabeel filly, Provocative. – NZ Racing Desk

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