Another Home-Track Feature for Epee Beel

Victory in a 1600-metre Riccarton feature put Epee Beel (Epaulette) on a path towards the NZB Southern Filly of the Year Series title last season, and she lined up over the same course and distance on Saturday and struck again in the $100,000 Group Three Donaldson Brown South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.

Epee Beel was bought for $80,000 from Landsdowne Park’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2022. Her 28-start career has produced four wins, 10 placings and $207,240 in stakes.

The Michael and Matthew Pitman-trained Epee Beel won three times last season including the Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton 11 months ago. She also placed in the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m), which put her at the top of the table at the completion of the four-race NZB Southern Filly Series.

Epee Beel had gone winless in her first 12 starts as a four-year-old this season, but she had been thereabouts with three seconds, two thirds, two fourths and a fifth. She lined up in another 1600-metre feature on her home track on Saturday and was right back at her very best.

Drawn the outside gate in a field of 14, Epee Beel was caught wide early and jockey Ashvin Goindasamy had no option but to push forward. It took until the 800-metre mark for her to eventually work her way into the lead.

But those efforts appeared to have no effects on Epee Beel’s energy reserves. She kicked strongly at the top of the home straight, putting plenty of space between herself and her nearest chasers.

Accomplished stayer Loftys Gift (NZ) (Ghibellines) made up ground late in the piece to get within two lengths, but Epee Beel was off and gone.

“She’d been going near enough without a lot of luck in this preparation,” Michael Pitman said. “She’s an established wet-tracker, she got a (Soft7) track to suit today and she absolutely bolted in.

“We might have a crack at the Canterbury Gold Cup (Group Three, 2000m) with her on April 26. All the way through, we’ve been thinking that she needed more ground. But just with the way the racing has been down south in her preparation, the races we’ve been aiming her at have been 1400 metres to a mile.”