Racing: Filly should again eclipse rivals

Anabandana will be hard to beat. Photo / Sarah Ivey

If Anabandana hadn't run in the Eclipse Stakes you might be looking differently at her chances in the Auckland Diamond Stakes at Ellerslie.

You would be saying, 'Yes, she's good against the fillies, but now she has to take on the males.'

Well, the Eclipse Stakes took that out of the equation.

Anabandana tackled perhaps the best of them in Super Easy, gave him a start, covered more ground than him and beat him in a ding-donger.

That no-argument victory set her up for favouritism in the Matamata Breeders and the classy Cambridge filly looked staggering in winning.

A filly like her who can get back and seems to prefer plenty of racing room can occasionally strike bad luck.

But such is her class she might need a fair bit of that.

There is plenty of opposition. Savabill might have run more than a second slower than Anabandana in winning the Waikato Slipper, the male version of the Matamata Breeders, the same day, but he was also impressive.

The time in each instance is probably irrelevant because both were subject to the tempo set by others. Savabill, like Anabandana, really motored home the last 200m, underlining how good he had been in coming from near last for a close fifth in the Karaka Million. The winner of that race, Fort Lincoln, owed much to a magnificent ride by Jonathan Riddell which allowed him to bomb the leaders late.

The No 1 barrier draw that allowed that has transposed to No 7 for this race. He may still be competitive, but it's unlikely he'll enjoy the same luck this time.

Cantabrian youngster Shuka created a big impression winning at Trentham last start. He's big and strong and looks more like a 3-year-old already so he has firepower, but the barrier No 10 looks awkward in this field and he has another disadvantage in having not raced right-handed.

Better drawn and with experience on right-handed tracks is Antonio Lombardo. Fort Lincoln only narrowly beat him in the Karaka Million, but he had every chance when fourth to Anabandana in the Eclipse.

If anything, there should be slight improvement in Anabandana from Matamata, where she was having her first start in two months.

But don't be fooled by the filly's appearance - she almost always looks as though a race will improve her.

"It's just her," said trainer Don Sellwood. "She might look a bit fat to some, but that's her natural build."

Conclusion: Anabandana to beat Savabill.