Dream Of The Moon Soars into NZB Southern Filly Lead

A commanding performance in Saturday’s $80,000 Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton has lifted Dream Of The Moon (All Too Hard) to the top of the points table in the NZB Southern Filly of the Year Series.

Previously a second placegetter in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m), Dream Of The Moon has now moved up to 11 points. That gives her a clear lead over Raziah (NZ) (Niagara) and Pivotal Ten (NZ) (Ten Sovereigns), who have earned 7 points each.

Until Saturday, Dream Of The Moon had been a perennial placegetter at black-type level. She had run second in the Group Three Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) and the Canterbury Belle Stakes, third in the Group Two Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) and fourth in the Group Three Taranaki 2YO Classic (1200m) and Listed Star Way Stakes (1200m). The Te Akau Racing filly snapped that sequence of near-misses with a spectacular stakes breakthrough at Riccarton.

Dream Of The Moon settled in sixth place in the NZB Airfreight Stakes, then cruised up alongside the leaders at the home turn while jockey George Rooke still had her under a tight hold.

Rooke released the brakes in the straight and Dream Of The Moon dashed away. She drew clear to win by three and a quarter lengths over Connello (NZ) (Time Test) and Donna Chiara (NZ) (Belardo).

Dream Of The Moon is trained by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson. She has now had 11 starts for three wins, four placings and $165,175 in stakes for the Te Akau Moon Dreaming Racing Partnership.

“It was a richly deserved stakes win to add to her previous stakes-placed efforts, and she really was dominant today,” Walker said. “She’s a beautiful filly that David (Ellis) bought, and she’s put together a very good record. It was a brilliant win.”

Saturday’s placegetters Connello and Donna Chiara earned 4 and 2 points respectively.

The fourth and final leg of the NZB Southern Filly Series is the $80,000 Listed NZB Warstep Stakes (2000m), which will be run at Riccarton on April 26. Like every other race in the series, the Warstep is worth 7 points for first, 4 for second and 2 for third. Dream Of The Moon is expected to take her place in the line-up.