A half-sister to Fawkner is set to make her debut at the same track where her Caulfield Cup-winning sibling started his racing career.
The Robert Smerdon-trained Fife steps out in Wednesday’s Viatek 2YO Handicap (1000m) at Ballarat with James Winks to ride.
Fife, by Starcraft out of Dane Belltar, was a $650,000 yearling and is raced by Qatar Bloodstock.
“She’s shown good ability and she could be very competitive there, but you would expect not just that she’d be better over further, but also that family does improve with time,” Smerdon told Racing.com.
Fawkner won his first race by five lengths but that was as an autumn three-year-old over 1600m in April 2011.
Along with 2013 Caulfield Cup winner Fawkner, Dane Belltar’s progeny include this year’s Adelaide Cup winner Tanby.
The Melbourne jockeys’ premiership battle will continue at the metropolitan grade meeting at Ballarat with Dwayne Dunn and Damien Oliver getting the chance to peg back Craig Williams’ slender lead.
Williams misses Wednesday’s meeting and Saturday’s Caulfield meeting through a careless riding suspension.
He leads Dunn by one with Oliver another win further back.
Dunn’s book of rides includes Longeron, the favourite in the Winter Championship Series heat.
