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Esta La Roca on song for McEwen Stakes; Melbourne beckons Belle Plaisir; Third stakes winner for Time Test
Esta La Roca on song for McEwen Stakes
New Zealand-bred mare Esta La Roca is in a purple patch of form and trainer Lloyd Kennewell is hoping that will continue on Saturday when she contests the Gr.2 McEwen Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley.
The daughter of El Roca won first-up over 1000m at Sandown in June before placing in her next three starts, including the Listed Lightning Stakes (1050m) at Morphettville and Listed Carlyon Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley last start.
She has continued to please her trainer who thinks she is in with a good shot of securing her maiden stakes win this weekend.
"She is going as good as she was the other day when she just got run down. I think it is a perfect race for her," Kennewell told SENTrack.
"A Group Two with a mare like her can increase her value quite substantially if she can run top three, which I think she is more than capable. I think she is right on song.
"A lot of the main dangers are first-up from a spell and she is hard-fit, ready to go, and I couldn't be happier with her."
Melbourne beckons Belle Plaisir
A deal struck with Ballarat trainer Tony McEvoy has handed a trans-Tasman opportunity to stakes-winning mare Belle Plaisir.
The daughter of Proisir has been a star performer for Awapuni trainer Lucy Tanner, who also owns her in partnership with Lance Hickman.
She was bought for $32,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2018 and has far exceeded that purchase price with four wins from 19 starts to date, headed by a last-start victory in the Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) in May.
Belle Plaisir returned to action with a smart trial win at Foxton on Thursday, beating stakes performers Victorem and Wild Moose in an open 1000m heat, and Tanner revealed that Australia now awaits.
"She won her trial well yesterday, I was very happy with that," she said. "
She's coming up really nicely this preparation. She's fully matured now and she seems to be a lot stronger this time in.
"On September 15, she'll be on a plane to Melbourne to join the stable of Tony and Calvin McEvoy at Ballarat.
"Tony has been very interested in the mare, and in the end, he put in an offer to us that was too good to refuse. From the outset, we'd told him first and foremost that the mare was not for sale. That was the bottom line – we wanted to retain her ourselves for her breeding career.
"But he came back to us with a package that we're more than happy with, and it's going to be a good chance for her to race over there. If she could pick up any black type in Australia, it would really set her up as a broodmare.
"She's got plenty of Australian-blood, being by Proisir out of a daughter of the speed sire Zeditave, so we're hoping there'll be a market for her progeny on both sides of the Tasman. As Tony has pointed out, the progeny of Proisir have been performing well both in New Zealand and in Australia."
Provided Belle Plaisir settles in well at her new base, Tanner said her first Australian appearance could come within a couple of weeks of her touching down on Australian soil.
"The McEvoy team were very pleased with the trial yesterday, and everything seems to be on track with her so far," she said.
"We'll get her over there and they can take it from there, but they've mentioned that one possible starting point could be a mares' race over 1400m on October 2 (Gr.2 Rose of Kingston Stakes at Flemington)."
Third stakes winner for Time Test
Fresh off recording his first Group victory as a sire courtesy of Rocchigiani in the Gr.3 Renate und Albrecht Woeste Zukunftsrennen (1400m) on Wednesday, Little Avondale Stud shuttle stallion Time Test was celebrating his third individual stakes winner and second Group winner just 24 hours later.
Two-year-old filly Romantic Time charged home to win the Gr.3 Dick Poole Fillies' Stakes (1200m) at Salisbury on Thursday, giving trainer William Stone his biggest moment in racing.
Jockey Hollie Doyle drove the juvenile to finish a length ahead of second placed Pearl Glory, with Crazyland a further shorthead back in third.
"They went very quick and she was a bit behind the bridle early on, and a bit intimidated up that rail, but halfway she got into a really nice rhythm," Doyle said.
"I took the brave man's route up the inside and thankfully I got a run. She's seen that out well and she's shown a bit of class."
Time Test, who served a full book of 135 mares in 2020, has once again garnered plenty of support from breeders this year with Little Avondale Stud announcing earlier this week that his book is once again full for the current breeding season.