First Points for Hera in Fillies Series

Talented O’Reilly filly Hera (NZ) (O’Reilly) landed her first points of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series with a strong win in the Group 2 $100,000 Cambridge Stud Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

Hera (NZ) triumphant in the Group 2 Cambridge Stud Eight Carat Classic at Ellerslie. Photo courtesy of Trish Dunell.

The bargain $28,000 Karaka Select Sale purchase by her trainer Roger James entered the race as the winner of three races including the Listed Great Northern Foal Stakes as a two-year-old. She was a last start second in the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial Stakes on the same track behind race rival Rising Romance (NZ) (Ekraar).

A late jockey change had to be made with Josh Adams, who was originally engaged to ride the horse, stood down due to health issues. Trainer Roger James engaged apprentice rider Michael Dee for the mount.

Starting from barrier 2, Dee was able to steer Hera into a prime position in behind the leaders in a moderately run race. As the field entered the home straight Hera went to the lead and quickly found she had a fight on her hands with race favourite Costa Viva (Encosta de Lago) challenging her on the outside.

It appeared that Hera was headed but fought back tenaciously to secure the lead and drew away at the winning post to win by a neck over Costa Viva and a further one-and-a-quarter-length back to Rising Romance in third position.

“I was very happy with her work but I was probably worried about one or two other fillies in the field and wondered if we were quite up to that class but she proved she was pretty well,” said James.

“Costa Viva headed her and I had seen Costa Viva trial which was very good so I thought her and Procurement were going to be very hard to roll but maybe I underestimated my filly, her work had been very good.

“She may run in the Royal Stakes next week, I have nominated her and she appears to have come through the run ok. If she does run she will probably head to the paddock afterwards and we may look at Brisbane in the winter.

“She stayed better than any of them yesterday so there is no reason to say she won’t get 2000m.”

Owned by Mrs F E & R A Dixon, Hera has won four of her nine starts and has earned $115,810 in prizemoney with yesterday’s win the second at stakes level for the filly. Roger James purchased Hera at the 2012 Karaka Select Sale for a mere $28,000 from Waikato Stud.

Waikato Stud’s Garry Chittick bred the filly by resident sire O’Reilly, last season’s Champion Sire in New Zealand. Hera is out of the Centaine mare Corsica, a half-sister to stakes winner River Chant (Danasinga). Hera is a full-sister to Hong Kong winner Telecom Top Star (O’Reilly), a winner of four races.

Hera earned 8 points in the Filly of the Year Series and now sits in third position on the leaderboard. Costa Viva entered the race as the Series leader and built on her lead earning four points for her second placing taking her to 19 points overall, a 6 point lead over Bounding (Lonhro). Third placegetter Rising Romance collected 2 points to register her first points of the Series.