Site crafted and built by Kick Collective
Source: TTR Australia & NZ by Kit Gow
She’s just playing the boys’ games all season, and on Saturday, it was finally Aeliana’s (NZ) (Castelvecchio) turn to cement her place amongst the elite staying ranks with victory as the only filly in the field of the G1 Australian Derby.
A last-start second by a hair’s breadth in the G1 Rosehill Guineas to Broadsiding(GB), Aeliana comfortably stepped up to the 2400 metres, travelling a pair back from the leaders until she hit the last 400 metres, where jockey Damian Lane let her stride forward. As she hit the front, she was clearly going to be impossible to catch, crossing the line 5.16l in front of runner-up Firm Agreement (Yes Yes Yes). On pulling up, Damian Lane called the Chris Waller-trained filly “extraordinary”.
“It was a great performance and all credit to her,” said Waller. “She’s had a couple of near misses in Group 1s but she’s got her own, and she’s got it in good style.
It was a well-deserved victory for the talented filly, and Waller was unsure if she would back up into the G1 Australian Oaks, where she would have to clash with boom filly Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express).
“My job is to look after her,” Waller said. “It would be unlikely that she would back up. But, wow, I can’t wait for the next chapter because she’s a rising star.”
“She left the barriers well, just travelled great from the outset and felt a winner a long way out,” Lane said.
“I’m not riding in the best form of my life, I’ve ridden well for a long time. You just slowly build up to these opportunities. Doesn’t matter how good you ride, if you don’t have the horse underneath you, you can’t produce.”
Denise Martin’s Star Thoroughbreds paid NZ$180,000 for the daughter of Castelvecchio at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, and returned to Karaka this year to pay NZ$300,000 for her half-sister by Proisir. She is the second Group 1 winner for Arrowfield Stud-based Castelvecchio, whose oldest crop is just three.