Racing: Big plans for tough Ellerslie winner

Whoshe is the first horse raced by the King Country's Red McDonald, who picked the filly out himself. Photo / Thinkstock

It's always a great sign in fillies and mares.

Bitchiness, that is.

Saturday's Novatel Ellerslie Foal Stakes winner Whoshe is the classic bitch, according to co-trainer Richard Otto.

You put up with that when they win races and the odd thing is, most of the bitches are good racehorses.

They transfer whatever it is that makes them tough to manage on to the racetrack.

"I think she will get better in time," says Otto, with more than a little hope in his voice.

They had to be tough to win at Ellerslie on Saturday and Whoshe, with just a two-race career to support her, made it look easy.

She simply cruised past the hot favourite Dollario and although challenged from the 200m was never going to be in danger.

In contrast to her winning run at Dargaville where she significantly ran about, Whoshe ran very straight this time.

"She's learned quickly," said Otto. "She'd gone on really well since Dargaville and I thought she'd be very competitive again."

Whoshe looks solid in condition and Otto believes he has a filly that will cope so well with the pressure of racing that he has a chance of taking her right through the winter and into the early spring 3-year-old races.

"She can go to the Castletown Stakes then the Ryder and if she's coping well and still going forward then the fillies' races in the spring."

That toughness comes as no real surprise. The filly's dam is a half sister to Rand, one of our finest jumpers of recent decades, and also to Shamrock Star, a much under-rated flat galloper.

Whoshe is the first horse raced by the King Country's Red McDonald, who picked the filly out himself.

Whoshe was well ridden by Mark Sweeney. In the next race, Sweeney went out on the favourite Keeping, who stopped quickly in the final stages and finished 30 lengths from the winner, The Strutter.

Stewards questioned Sweeney who said Keeping travelled well until the 400m when he quickly came under pressure in the 2400m race.

A veterinary examination revealed an issue with the larynx and the promising stayer is to have further tests.

Jason Collett wasn't the only New Zealand apprentice to feature in Australia on Saturday.

South Islander Daniel Stackhouse has been spending time working with leading Melbourne trainer Peter Moody and won the opening event at Caulfield on Saturday on the Moody-trained Limerock.

Trainer John Sargent will decide in the next day or so whether he runs luckless Shanghai Bund in next Saturday's Sires Produce in Brisbane.

Shanghai Bund was expected to go close in Saturday's A$100,000 The Phoenix at Doomben, but the youngster was found cast in his box when a staff member went to collect him to go to the races.

"He trotted up sound, but the vet said there was a bit of swelling down the side of the leg he got cast on, so the safest thing to do was to late-scratch."