Cellargirl Displays Magic Millions Potential With Impressive Eagle Farm Debut
After settling back in seventh place, she improved nicely nearing the home turn but was crowded and checked at the 200 metres, appearing to lose any winning prospects.
However, her jockey James Orman then eased Cellargirl deepest of all and she came with a strong finish to win the QTIS Two-Year-Old Handicap (1000m) by a long neck, going away.
Time for the 1000 metre journey was a smart 58.22 but it was Cellargirl’s sectional times that really confirmed the standard of the performance.
Clocked from the 800 metres point, Cellargirl ran 200 metre sections of 10.92, 11.06 (400m in 21.98), 10.92 (600m in 32.90) with her final 200 metres in 11.56 to give the filly a fast last 800 metre time of 44.46.
Cellargirl was purchased by Kelly Schweida at the 2016 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the draft of Vinery Stud for $90,000 and she now looks one of the brightest local Queensland prospects for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic to be run at the Gold Coast on 14 January.
Another to impress at Saturday’s Eagle Farm meeting was the Desleigh Forster-trained four-year-old Too Good To Refuse (Rothesay) who came from last to win the Keith Noud Quality Handicap (Listed, 1200m).
Having his second run this preparation, Too Good To Refuse settled in last place in the 11-horse field, was conceding the leader about eight lengths nearing the home turn and was still last at the 300 metres where rider Jim Byrne took him to the extreme outside.
Too Good To Refuse then finished brilliantly and after hitting the lead at the 100 metres, he went on to score easily by a length and three quarters in a time of 1:10.01.
Clocked from 800 metres, Too Good To Refuse ran 200 metre sections of 11.26, 11.02 (400m in 22.28) 11.04 (600m in 33.32) with his last 200 metres in 11.82 to give him a final 800 metre time of 45.14.
Too Good To Refuse has always shown potential beyond his achievements to date, still being a winner of five of his 18 starts, but this preparation Forster has indicated the four-year-old entire will be kept to shorter trips, with that approach paying dividends already.
Last Saturday’s feature racing was in Perth with the highlight being the Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) which was taken out by the local rising star Scales Of Justice (Not A Single Doubt) who took his record to seven wins from 13 starts with an impressive all-the-way victory.
After showing good early pace in which leading Hong Kong-based jockey Douglas Whyte was able to find the lead with Scales Of Justice in a well-rated first 400 metre time of 25.45.
Whyte then steadily picked up the tempo, turning the Railway Stakes into a truly run and solid test taking full advantage of the progressive four-year-old’s talent and 53 kilogram limit weight.
Clocked from the 1200 metre point, Scales Of Justice ran 200 metre sections of 11.74, 11.86 (400m in 23.60), 11.40 (600m in 35.00), 12.00 (800m in 47.00), 11.84 (1000m in 58.84) with his last 200 metres in 11.84 to give him a quick last 1200 metre time of 1:10.68.
After taking a good break on straightening, Scales Of Justice was not threatened from that point and he went on to score easily by two and three quarter lengths from last year’s winner Good Project (Not A Single Doubt) with another Group One winner, Perfect Reflection (More Than Ready) a head away third.
It was certainly an impressive performance and the Lindsey Smith-trained gelding, who is now likely to now tackle Saturday week’s Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m) at Ascot, clearly has the potential to be very competitive in the eastern states.
The secondary feature at Ascot on Saturday was the WA Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) and it was taken out by the Stephen Miller-trained Variation (War Chant) who had settled back in seventh place, behind a very solid tempo.
With a number of runners keen to lead, the first 1000 metres on the Good4 track was clocked in a fast 59.28, turning the WA Guineas into a test of stamina.
The lightly raced Variation, who was having only his seventh race start, then battled on gamely to defeat the well-performed filly Ellicazoom (Testa Rossa) by a half-length in a time of 1:37.08 (with the last 600 metres in a steady 37.80, due to the quick early pace).
In the final race on the Ascot card, the Bob Peters-raced mare Cosmic Storm (Street Sense) staged an excellent first-up performance in taking out the Jungle Mist Classic (Listed, 1200m), her fifth win from only 11 starts to date.
The lightly raced five-year-old mare, who was resuming from a ten months break, was ridden patiently by leading jockey William Pike and settled back in tenth place before coming with a strong late run to grab a narrow but very good win.
Cosmic Storm was also impressive on the watch with her last 600 metres clocking 34.74, last 400 metres 22.86 with her final 200 metres in 11.38, very smart closing sectionals.
She is a talented mare, seemingly with some issues earlier in her career, but a repeat of Saturday’s effort would see Cosmic Storm also prove effective in the eastern states.
Sectional Times provided by www.dailysectionals.com.au