Inspirational Girl (NZ) Steps Up to Stakes Class

After making a big impression rising through the grades, highly talented Karaka graduate Inspirational Girl (NZ) (Reliable Man) stepped up to stakes class on Saturday and delivered more of the same.

The $190,000 Premier Sale purchase triumphed in the A$150,000 Group Three Hosemasters Asian Beau Stakes (1400m) at Ascot. The five-year-old has now had 10 starts for eight wins and two placings, earning A$292,125 in stakes for prominent Perth owners Bob and Sandra Peters.

Ridden by Chris Parnham for trainers Grant and Alana Williams, Inspirational Girl was slow out of the gates and dropped out to last in the early stages of Saturday’s race. But she produced a brilliant finishing burst in the straight, diving through along the inside and hitting the lead in the shadows of the finish line for a narrow but outstanding win.

“We’ve always had a lot of time for her,” Bob Peters said. “She’s out of a half-sister to Midnight Special (Zabeel), who’s a mare that we raced. We know the family well, but they’ve sometimes just taken a bit of time.

“She’s not a big, robust mare, but she’s fairly tough. I think she’ll probably go to the Group One Railway Stakes next (1600m, November 21), and I don’t think there’ll be any need to run her again in between times.”