NZB Filly of the Year Series Gets Underway at Hawkes Bay

The first race in the prestigious New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, the Group 3 Windsor Park Stud & Hawkes Bay Breeders Gold Trail Stakes (1200m), is set to run at Hawkes Bay on Saturday.

New Zealand Bloodstock will once again offer connections of the overall Series winner lucrative bonuses which will be kept at�the same level as last year after doubling in value the year before. The winning owner will receive NZ$30,000 while the winning trainer and breeder will each take home NZ$10,000 apiece.

With this in mind, 13 three-year-old fillies will compete for the $70,000 purse on Saturday with one of last season's smartest juveniles, Katie Lee (Pins x Miss Jessie Jay), heading the field for Graeme & Debbie Rogerson. Racing out of the money only once, the grey's best performance to date saw her capture the Group 3 Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes.

The newly formed Rogerson partnership is also represented by Queen Sabeel (Savabeel x Vanessatheundressa). The winner of two of her three starts, including the Listed Northland Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Ruakaka on 31 July, Queen Sabeel starts as second favourite behind the fast finishing Corsage (Volksraad x Spray).

Trained by Mark Walker, Corsage has never finished further back than fifth in seven starts including a victory at her very first outing. Placed at Group 1 and Group 2 level the daughter of Volksraad is expected to finish strongly once again on Saturday with a resulting win being her first stakes victory.

Francis Finnegan's Eileen Dubh (Storm Creek x Vingtaine) enters the race as a winner of two��of seven races in consistently strong company. She ran third in the Listed Wanganui Fillies Stakes at her first start this season to gain valuable black-type whilst also showing she was primed for another successful season.

St Germaine (Keeper x Selenium) beat Eileen Dubh home when finishing second in the Group 2 Duke of Bedford Stakes last season in a preparation for John Sargent where she showed Group 1 ability when finishing third in the Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes behind The Heckler (Lucky Owners).

Kevin Gray's Gofonze (Golan x Elfonze) and Andrew Scott's Bewitch (Bachelor Duke x Star of Flight) have both placed at Listed level and each will be looking forward to a good performance in the Hawkes Bay Group 3 contest.

Making up the field are well regarded fillies Sitara (More than Ready x Al Samoud) for Don Dwyer,� Mi Payday (Howbaddouwantit x Pay Roll) for Stephen Crutchley, and �Mercury Mistress (No Excuse Needed x Flytaine) for Lance Noble.

Also, �first starters Promanade (Savabeel x River Century) for Kevin Gray and Waikato Stud and Staged (Pure Theatre x Our Sovelda) for Mike & Paul Moroney will be looking to repay the faith shown by their connections when beginning their racing careers against Group company.

Last season's New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Daffodil (No Excuse Needed) carried her title to victory in the Group 1 AJC Oaks late last season. The victory went into her Group 1 collection along with the NZ 1000 Guineas and tomorrow she returns to Group 1 race-day action in the Group 1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m).

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�2008/09 NZB Filly of the Year Daffodil

Daffodil took the Series last year with 18 points and all fillies assembled for tomorrow's Group 3 Windsor Park Stud & Hawkes Bay Breeders Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) are in with a chance to grab valuable first points with the winner gaining six, the runner-up receiving three, and the third placed finisher accruing one and a half points.

Click here for the list of New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series race dates.