When barriers were drawn for the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield, Beau Mertens was a touch apprehensive about the chances of talented mare Hearcomesthestar.
The five-year-old mare drew the widest barrier for the $175,000 feature which ended up being a blessing as riders tracked progressively wider throughout the card.
Hearcomesthestar, trained by John Moloney, was able to get to the outside rail and justified market support, sent out a $4.40 second elect and denying the $2.70 favourite Bustling by 1-1/2 lengths, with 3/4 of a length back to Couer Volante ($61) in third.
By Zoustar and out of a Group 3 winning daughter of Nicconi, securing blacktype was all important for Hearcomesthestar who added significant value to her post-racing career, a time Moloney doesn’t have any plans for just yet.
“Always a dream to get the black type into a horse,” Moloney said.
“Then to get a black-type win just puts the icing on the cake.
“She’s just got better each time I bring her back, she goes a little bit better. She loves her training life and she loves the people around her.
“You’ve got the John Monash coming up but I’d just like to give her a chance in the later spring, if she does take another step, who’s to say we can’t just win another nice race along the way, but she’s in great order.”
Mertens, who has ridden Hearcomesthestar the past four times she’s won, said it was simply a case of maturity that has seen the mare realise her potential.
“From the first race when Willow went right off to the middle of the track, I thought we’ve got a long way to go until this race,” Mertens said.
“We just got blended straight to where we needed to be and she did the rest. She’s a terrific horse, she puts her all, wears her heart on her sleeve, and has a crack every start.
“She had a few quirks early days in the barriers and a few bad manners. She seems to have overcome all that, she’s matured into a lovely mare now and just can’t ask for anything better from her.
“I think she’s just going to keep coming back better and better.”
