One Dream One Soul holds out the fast-finishing Love Letter to win over 1600m at Hastings last Sunday. The two horses are likely to clash again in next Wednesday's Group 2 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes.
Hastings stables could have at least two runners in next Wednesday's $110,000 Group 2 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes after excellent performances by One Dream One Soul and Love Letter at last Sunday's Wairoa race meeting, held on the Hastings track.
The two horses fought out the finish of the Rating 65 race over 1600m, with One Dream One Soul holding out the fast-finishing Love Letter by half a length.
The Lowland Stakes will be the feature race at next Wednesday's Hawke's Bay twilight race meeting and is one of the important races in the New Zealand Three-year-old Filly of the Year series.
The race was always going to be on the agenda for Love Letter after her game run for third in the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham on January 29, with trainers Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen using last Sunday's race to top off her preparation.
One Dream One Soul's trainer Lee Somervell hadn't really considered a Lowland Stakes start for his filly but the way she won over 1600m last Sunday has given him confidence she will run out a strong 2100m and he is hoping to get some black type next to her name.
The Ekraar filly put up a brave performance last Sunday as she was caught three-wide without cover for the entire race. Apprentice Ashvin Mudhoo took her up to challenge the leaders rounding the home turn and she hit the front soon afterwards.
Love Letter, who had got well back in the running, started to unleash a strong finish but One Dream One Soul kept finding a bit more and lasted to win.
It was the filly's second success from 10 starts after she cleared maiden ranks with an easy maiden victory over 1600m at Hastings at the end of last month.
"I think the penny has finally dropped with her and she is really producing good performances now," Somervell said.
"She is bred to get a middle distance so we'll give her a chance to do it next week."
One Dream One Soul is a younger full-sister to One Prize One Goal, a horse that recorded five wins and 17 minor placings from the Somervell stable and she is also a half-sister to the four-race winner Jacob Gambino.
The filly is raced by Somervell's partner Shirin Wood in partnership with her Australian-based son Calvin, her daughter Tina and her partner Steve Ryan and a close friend, Pene Wisdom.
Love Letter has been a model of consistency with a win, a second, two thirds and a fifth from five starts and is expected to be suited by the step up to 2100m next Wednesday.
One Dream One Soul's success last Sunday kicked off another great day for Hawke's Bay-trained horses as they won four of the nine races on the Wairoa programme.
Rip Wheeler, part-owned and trained by Waipukurau's Simon Wilson, made an impressive winning debut in the maiden three-year-old race over 1400m, the Patrick Campbell-trained Truly out slogged her rivals in testing track conditions to take out the other 1400m maiden race while the John Bary-prepared Lilly Laguna was a narrow winner of a Rating 65 event over 2100m.
Truly's win special for HB owner
Truly scored a significant win for her Hastings owner-breeder Rob Mulcaster when she scored a two-length victory in a 1400m maiden race at Sunday's Wairoa meeting.
Mulcaster is formerly from Wairoa and was president of the Wairoa Racing Club for a number of years. His very familiar black, white and gold racing colours have been carried to success by several top horses over the years, the most notable being Shamrock whose victories included the 1980 Avondale Cup, 1981 Prime Ministers Cup in Brisbane, 1982 Wairoa Cup and 1982 Hawke's Bay Cup.
Mulcaster also owned the outstanding sprinter Festal, whose eight wins included a dead-heat with Mr Tiz in the 1989 Group 1 Telegraph Handicap (1200m) at Trentham and he went on to become a successful sire while he also shared in the ownership of Kailey, winner of the 1997 Group 1 Railway Handicap (1200m) at Ellerslie.
Truly is by The Bold One out of the Shinko King mare Lamar, who is a granddaughter of Kailey.
Lamar never raced after suffering an injury as a young horse and Truly is her first foal. She has since left a yearling filly by Derryn and a filly foal by Rock 'N' Pop.
Truly was having her fifth start when she lined up on her home track last Sunday, with her previous best placing being a third over 1200m on the same track at the end of December.
Her connections were unsure how she would handle the wet track after a 20-minute deluge of rain descended on the Hastings course just prior to her race, turning track conditions from a dead-5 to a slow-9.
Truly didn't look that happy in the footing but still proved too good for her six rivals, taking the lead early in the home straight and staving off the challengers.
Deserved success for Lilly Laguna
Lilly Laguna made up for an unlucky last-start seventh at Trentham on Wellington Cup day when she claimed a last-stride win in the final event at Sunday's Wairoa meeting.
The Rios four-year-old mare was recording her second victory from 10 starts and should have at least a filled a minor placing over 2200m at Trentham on January 29 had she not been severely hampered about 150m from the finish.
The John Bary-trained mare was having her sixth start on her home track with the success followed two third placings on the course.
She was bred by the Hawke's Bay brothers Allan and Wayne Chittick and their Waikato brother Gary, and they race her in partnership with Waipukurau's Peter Evans.
Lilly Laguna is out of the Savabeel mare Savarose, who was the winner of one race and was out of the Balmerino mare Longlands. It is a family the Chitticks have bred from over a number of years.
Rider Michael McNab settled Lilly Laguna fifth in the early running last Sunday and the mare was clearly travelling well when in behind the leaders coming to the home bend.
When the leaders ran wide on the bend, McNab kept to the inside and Lilly Laguna hit the front soon after straightening for the run home.
Another Hastings-trained mare, Herself, mounted a spirited finishing burst in the final 200m but Lilly Laguna held on gamely to win by a head.
Impressive debut winner
First starter Rip Wheeler looked a horse headed for bigger things when he powered home to beat four more experienced rivals over 1400m at Sunday's Wairoa meeting.
The Rip Van Winkle gelding, trained at Waipukurau by Simon Wilson, had shown a glimpse of his ability when winning a 1200m jumpout at Hastings at the end of last month and was also placed in a 1000m Foxton trial last winter.
The three-year-old produced a brave performance to win last Sunday as he had to overcome an early check and was then held up behind the leading trio early in the home straight.
However, once jockey Kate Hercock angled him around the heels of those three horses and into clear running he showed great acceleration to get up and win by half a neck.
Rip Wheeler is bred to stay, being out of the unraced Mastercraftsman mare Medieval Queen. He was purchased by Simon Wilson for $18,000 at the 2020 Karaka yearling sales from the Windsor Park Stud draft.
Bonny Lass showed her class
Talented filly Bonny Lass put a smile on the face of co-trainer Graham Richardson after she returned to winning form with a comprehensive victory over 1200m at Ellerslie last Saturday.
Richardson, who prepares the daughter of Super Easy with training partner Rogan Norvall, had been confident of a good performance following some impressive trackwork earlier in the week and once she secured an ideal barrier draw in gate two, that confidence was enhanced.
A well-judged ride from Craig Grylls saw Bonny Lass settle behind the pacemakers before diving through a gap against the rail at the 250m to draw clear for a comfortable 1-1/2 length victory.
Richardson has always rated the filly, who was placed twice at Group 1 level as a two-year-old, as above average and believes she is ready to tackle stakes company again at her next start.
"That good draw made all the difference as last time she got caught three-wide on the speed and that cost her as she just couldn't kick on," he said.
"Craig got her away nicely this time and waited for the run to come and she put them away fairly easy.
"At this stage she will be coming back to Ellerslie for the Listed Mufhasa Stakes (1400m) on March 5 and, safely through that, we might take her down to Trentham for the Group 1 Levin Classic (1600m)."
Raced by her breeder Sandy Moore, along with Brent and Wendy Cooper and the Social Racing Starting Gates Syndicate, Bonny Lass has won four of her eight starts and more than $162,000 in prizemoney.
Hawke's Bay woman Bronwyn Butler is a member of the Social Racing Starting Gates Syndicate.
Hallmark Stud will offer a half-sister to Bonny Lass, by Shocking, at this year's Karaka yearling sales, which commence on March 7.