Beautifully-bred filly Plucky Belle has landed her first metropolitan win at Sandown and leading trainer Peter Moody believes she will graduate to stakes class given time.
The three-year-old is a daughter of Mossman and Zabeel mare Winning Belle who won the 2004 Group Two Queensland Guineas (1600m) and was runner-up to champion Makybe Diva in the 2005 Australian Cup (2000m).
Raced by the Esplin family, Plucky Belle made an impressive debut on Australian Cup day at Flemington last March when an unlucky and close-up fourth to Triple Asset in the Group Three Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m).
She was spelled immediately and resumed with a win in a Seymour 1309m maiden on a slow track last August before being beaten as odds-on favourite by And Rock over 1400m at Caulfield later that month.
“She’s a nice filly who has shown more at home than she’s shown in her races,” Moody said.
“I think she’s going to be a mare not a filly, we always thought that.
“She’s still a bit fine and could end up getting some black type in Adelaide but it mightn’t be until this time next year so we are going to have to pick our mark as we go through.
“Seven furlongs (1400m) is every bit as far as she wants to go at this stage and I think she wants her races spaced.
“The only other Mossman I’ve trained was Segments who ran second first-up for me in an Oakleigh Plate (to Fastnet Rock in 2005).”
Ridden by stable jockey Luke Nolen, Plucky Belle ($4.20) was ridden quietly back in the field as notified to stewards by the stable in Wednesday’s Perri Cutten Hcp (1400m).
Nolen surprised Moody by threading his way through the field towards the inside and the filly had a long neck to spare over Crucial ($8.50) with Invest ($14) 1-1/2 lengths away third.
Meanwhile, young Mornington trainer Nathan McPherson had a day he’ll never forget when Testaguy gave him his first winner in the Event Landscaping Solutions Hcp (1500m).
McPherson said he picked the six-year-old Testa Rossa gelding up at a tried sale about 12 months ago for $14,500.
“They said he was a broken-down hack who wouldn’t get back to the races,” he said.
“He’s been pretty hard to get back but he’s done a good job today.”
Backed from $15 in to $11, Testaguy gave jockey Chris Symons a winning double after he scored on the Greg Eurell-trained Go My Girl ($2.10 fav) in the 4tracks4kids Hcp (1800m).
AAP TURF
