Spellbinding Soliloquy Win

The weekend’s Listed $50,000 Allied Workforce Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie was made a one-act affair with Spellbinder (NZ) (O’Reilly) cruising to a comfortable 6.5 length win in the second leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series.

Spellbinder (NZ) winning by 6.5 lengths in the Listed Allied Workforce Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie. Photo courtesy of Trish Dunell.

The Jason Bridgman trained filly started the race as the favourite and was dominant as she accounted for a promising group of three-year-old fillies with ease over 1400m.

Jumping well from the outside barrier for top jockey Matthew Cameron, the O’Reilly filly was brought across to sit outside the leader for the early part of the race. As the field turned for home Cameron asked his mount for an effort and she responded by dashing away from the field and opening up a margin.

The $60,000 Karaka graduate showed an impressive turn of foot in the Heavy10 ground to clear away from the field with seemingly little effort and Cameron was able to let her coast to the line in the final stages with the race in safe keeping.

Te Akau Racing collected the quinella in the race with fellow Karaka graduate Ruthless Lady (NZ) (Keeper) running on from well back to finish second to her stable mate, ahead of Zanotti (NZ) (Strategic Image) in third, with all three fillies collecting valuable points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series.

“It was a really impressive win, she raced very professionally and looks like a horse that can go on with it,” said Bridgman.

“You don’t go to the races expecting you will win by those sorts of margins but we were confident she was going to be strong chance of winning, but to do it in that fashion was not expected.”

Te Akau Racing last won the Filly Series crown with King’s Rose in 2011, with Bridgman confirming similar aspirations for Spellbinding.

“She will target the One Thousand Guineas and progress through the Fillies Series. I don’t think a mile will be a problem for her the way she ran to the line on the weekend. We may give her one more race on the way to the Guineas in three weeks and that will give us four weeks into the Guineas.

“David Ellis purchased both the first two fillies from Karaka. Ruthless Lady was purchased from Cambridge Stud and I thought she looked excellent in the parade ring before the race. She ran on well and she will take a lot of improvement out of the race. She is a filly that will enjoy a mile and even further.”

Saturday’s victory continued an unbeaten run for Spellbinder who had been successful in four trial appearances before she made a winning raceday debut at Taupo earlier in September. The filly has now earned $34,375 for her owners Te Akau Spellbinder Syndicate.

Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis purchased the filly for $60,000 from the 2012 Karaka Premier Sale from Mapperley Stud who offered the filly on behalf of her breeder and well-known Melbourne trainer Danny O’Brien.

Spellbinder is the fourth winner out of the Scenic mare Scenic Sprint, a Listed placegetter in Australia. Her sire, O’Reilly, was last season’s leading sire in New Zealand and with a stream of stakes winners Spellbinder became the 69th stakes winner for the Waikato Stud sire.

Spellbinder earned herself four points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series, positioning her second on the overall leaderboard, with Ruthless Lady picking up two points and Zanotti one point as the Series heads to the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock One Thousand Guineas for the next opportunity to gain points.

To view the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series Leaderboard and race schedule, click here.