Fairy Dream (NZ) Heads Stable Quinella in NZB Desert Gold

Cambridge trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood took two fillies into Saturday’s $200,000 Group Three NZB Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham and came away with a perfect result – a quinella by Fairy Dream (NZ) (Proisir) and Waimea Bay (NZ) (Savabeel).

The Desert Gold Stakes was the eighth leg of the NZB Filly of the Year Series. Fairy Dream earned her first 6 points with her victory, while Waimea Bay joined the leaderboard with 3 points and the third-placed Crimson Sky (NZ) (Ocean Park) collected her first 1.5 points.

Fairy Dream was making her second appearance in the NZB Filly of the Year Series in Saturday’s Desert Gold. She made an eye-catching series debut in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, where she flew home from last to finish fourth and recorded the fastest last 800, 600, 400 and 200 metres of the race.

James and Wellwood added blinkers for the Desert Gold on Saturday, hoping Fairy Dream might be able to jump more sharply, take up a handier position and not leave herself with so much work to do in the straight. So it proved as Masa Hashizume settled Fairy Dream into a smooth rhythm in seventh spot.

Hashizume got Fairy Dream to the outside at the top of the straight and moved her through her gears, and she quickened stylishly to challenge for the lead at the 200-metre mark.

Her stablemate Waimea Bay went with her and proved to be the hardest to get past, but Fairy Dream pinned her ears back and stretched out the best to score a narrow but authoritative win. Crimson Sky was close up behind the James-Wellwood pair in third.

James and Wellwood paid $360,000 to buy Fairy Dream from Elsdon Park’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2024. The classy filly has now had four starts for two wins and $140,060 in stakes.

“She’s a top-class filly,” Wellwood said. “With a bit more time and on drier ground, I think we might see her do some special things.

“She’s always shown a lot of class, even in her maiden win in the spring when she won on the bridle. She’s a filly we’ve always had a lot of time for.

“There’s plenty of options for a filly like this. The way she’s won today has opened up a lot of doors.

“We’ll probably stick to the fillies’ path for now, races like the David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (Group Two, 2000m) at Te Rapa and then the Oaks (Group One, 2400m). The Oaks is at Ellerslie this year and only an hour and a half up the road, which makes it easier to head that way. But she’s a filly that you could see running in both an Oaks and a Derby (Group One, 2400m).

“We’re delighted with Waimea Bay too. She had a bit of a setback in the spring and has come back in great order. She’s a beautifully bred Savabeel filly, so picking up some black type today is great for all the team at Waikato Stud.”

Fairy Dream’s win made a favourable impression on Hashizume.

“She jumped only fairly, but then travelled smoothly,” he said. “She was really strong through the line. She’s a beautiful big filly who will definitely go to some good places in the future. She’s a beautiful, beautiful horse.”

Saturday’s result made no change to the top of the NZB Filly of the Year Series table, which still has Well Written (Written Tycoon) and Lollapalooza (NZ) (El Roca) as equal leaders with 20 points.

The NZB Filly of the Year Series will return to Trentham again for the next leg, the $175,000 Group Two Jennian Homes Lowland Stakes (2100m) on January 31.

Vendor	Elsdon Park
Purchaser	Mr RA James/Mr R Wellwood (Waikato)
Breeding	Proisir – Fairygem
Sale	Lot 63, Karaka 2024 Book 1, $360,000
Breeder	M & I Heyns Partnership
Owner	C R Litt & H J Litt