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Beautifully-bred filly Catalan Bay will be set for fillies' features in the spring including the VRC Oaks following her tenacious win at Sandown.
John O'Neill, well known as the part-owner of Lee Freedman-trained horses such as Mummify and Sphenophyta, races the Rock Of Gibraltar filly with a group including Keith Biggs and Dr John Tickell, of Doriemus fame.
They paid $360,000 for her at the Sydney Easter Yearling Sale last year.
She is out of Kim Angel who won the 1998 Group One WATC Derby (2400m).
O'Neill said British Bloodstock agent Adrian Nichol, who selected VRC Oaks and AJC Australian Oaks winner Serenade Rose and highly promising two-year-old filly Royal Asscher at the sales, also picked out Catalan Bay.
"She'll run in either the South Australian Sires' Produce Stakes or the Gibson Carmichael Stakes before she goes out for a spell, then she'll be back in the spring for the staying races including the Oaks," O'Neill said.
The Group Three SA Sires' Produce Stakes (1600m) is run at Morphettville on May 6 while the Listed Gibson Carmichael Stakes (1600m) is at Sandown on May 19.
"Lee (Freedman) put winkers on her and she worked well during the week and we thought she'd sit closer," O'Neill said.
Ridden by Corey Brown in the Heathmont Hcp (1300m), Catalan Bay ($4.40 fav) settled second and held out Class Prevails ($6) by a head with Prayer ($8) 2-3/4 lengths away third.
Brown said she had learned a lot from her first start when she settled back and finished fourth to Queen Falvelon over 1200m at Sandown on April 11.
Meanwhile, the Bruce Purcell-trained Our Raphael ($15) set a new course record for 1600m when he ran 1:35.77 in the Potrero Handicap to break Landloper's old mark by 0.03s.
The Perugino six-year-old, coming off a victory in the Tatura Cup (1600m) on April 15, burst through a gap in the straight and went on to score by 2-1/4 lengths from Xenial Ruler ($13) with Soldiste ($26) 1-1/4 lengths away third.
Our Raphael was very capably ridden by promising apprentice Nicholas Hall who went on to land his first city double aboard the Peter Moody-trained Loanhead ($3 fav) in the Plato Hcp (2400m).
When the speed was slow mid-race, Hall used his initiative to take off on Loanhead and open up a good lead before the four-year-old held on well to score by two lengths from Transferral ($4.20) with Cyclonic Bay ($20) three-quarters of a length away third.
"He's a horse who can travel keenly and I said to him (Hall) 'don't be afraid to roll forward and keep going to make it a staying test'," Moody said.
Loanhead, who ran third in last year's Queensland Derby (2400m), will have to win another race in Melbourne before he makes another trip north, according to Moody.
The gelding has now won four races and been placed in two of his 13 starts.
© 2010 Published 27/04/07
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