Tough mare Girl Sunday boosted her value immensely with a huge run for second in the Group Two Millie Fox Stakes at Rosehill on the weekend.
The daughter of champion stallion Encosta De Lago has now won five of her 20 race starts and placed four times for earnings of $242,310 but it was Saturday’s Group Two placing that’s probably her most significant result to date, said Ontrack Thoroughbreds Managing Director Grant Morgan. “Before the Millie Fox Stakes, she was a multiple Saturday city winning mare, but adding black type form really boosts her residual value. “She’s a daughter of a champion stallion and the first black type performer for stakes-winning Cape Cross mare Pleasantsundaygirl, a grand-daughter of Group III winner Furama Nights. “Placing in a highly rated Sydney Group Two race will ensure she is a highly regarded broodmare prospect when she finishes her racing career,” said Grant Morgan. Purchased out of the Mill Park draft at the 2014 Inglis Premier sale by Grant Morgan for $100,000, Girl Sunday is from a strong female line. Her dam was the winner of the Listed Twilight Stakes at Sandown and placed in the Group Two Angus Armanasco Stakes and her third dam Furama Nights was placed at Group One level and a Group Three winner. “At Ontrack we try and buy horses capable of winning in city races and we also try and maximise a horse’s value during its racing career. With mares it’s very important to try and capture black type form and now that Girl Sunday has black type form she becomes a very valuable mare. “Encosta de Lago was a champion sire but now his daughters have elevated him to champion broodmare sire status and in 2016-17 he became the highest earning broodmare sire in a single season. “The plan for Girl Sunday is not set in stone as she doesn’t handle rain affected ground, so we will just take our time and find the right race for her. She’s eligible for some Benchmark races or we can plot a path that takes in some nice fillies and mares races over the autumn,” said Grant Morgan. Ontrack Thoroughbreds policy of moving horses inter-state again paid dividends when Aqua Delago scored his second career win at Gatton. Aqua Delago was transferred from Chris Waller’s Sydney stable halfway through last year after two unplaced runs and joined Ben Currie’s Toowoomba yard. He’s now had six starts for Currie for two wins, three placings and hasn’t finished further back than fifth. “At Ontrack we like all our trainers to let us know if they feel one of our horses will struggle to be competitive in the state where they are being trained,” said Ontrack Thoroughbreds Managing Director Grant Morgan. “It’s all about being able to identify a horse’s potential and moving it to where the horse can realise that potential. “Around the time Aqua Delago heading to Queensland we also moved Impregnable, Dream Master and Knockoura from Victoria and New South Wales and so far, the four horses have won a total of 11 races after heading north as maidens. “Impregnable and Dream Master have been city winners, so horses can race to a good level if they are placed correctly. “Ben Currie does a great job at Toowoomba and we identified him a few years back and a trainer going places and last season he trained the most winners in Queensland. “We bought a magnificent colt by Dissident at the Magic Millions Sale for Ben to train and we will continue to support his stable,” said Grant Morgan. A good-looking son of former champion South African sprinter Delago Deluxe, Aqua Delago was ridden by Nozi Toimizawa at Gatton and the horse was put on the speed after being slightly tardy at the jump. “It was a good, game win because he didn’t jump cleanly and had to work a little bit to get up outside the speed. “He was nearly a month between races, so he was always going to be a little bit vulnerable late in the race, but he had a bit of a class edge over his opponents. He’s a nice horse and I’m pretty confident there will be more wins in store for him,” said Ben Currie. Congratulations to our owners: Ontrack Aqualuna Syndicate, Mark Snowden, Barbara Gilbert, Denis and Margaret Frew, Garry and Jenny Webster, Friendship Racing Syndicate, Dr David Worthley, Fine Dining Syndicate, Denis and Glenys Knobel, Gordon Henry, Boyd Bignell and Judy Gardner. |
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