Local runner Miss Wilson justified some support when she dominated her rivals in the Gr. 3 Red Badge Spring Sprint at Hastings yesterday.
Sent out a warm favourite off the back of a promising performance behind Gingernuts in the Windsor Park Plate last month, the five-year-old Stratum mare gave jockeySamantha Collett an armchair ride throughout the contest.
Positioned nicely in the trail, Collett had a lapful of horse approaching the home corner as pacemaker Shadow Fox tried to slip away from his rivals. Collett had the mare off the fence and up alongside her rival in the twinkling of an eye and from there she quickly burst away to an unassailable lead.
Allowed to coast to the line Miss Wilson scored by over three lengths in a smart 1.22.62 for the 1400 metre journey. Collett, who piloted speed merchant Prom Queen to a similarly effortless victory at Ashburton on Saturday, was typically understated about her role in the victory.
"Riding horses like her makes my job very easy," she commented.
"She jumped and put herself in the race although they didn't go as quick as I thought they might.
"I just had to bide my time and wait to get off the fence but she is a very classy mare and I knew what she was capable of. She has come in a lot stronger this time so she deserves a shot at something bigger after this."
Owner Richard Wood confirmed that he and trainer John Bary are thinking along similar lines in respect of the mare's future.
