Gary Portelli appears to have a serious filly on his hands as Sky Command dominated the Vinery Stud Handicap (1100m) at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
The two-year-old led from start to finish on debut, running away with a 2.59 length victory.
The daughter of Deep Field is bred and owned by prominent owner Bert Vieira, the owner and breeder of Group-1 winning stallion Trapeze Artist.
Portelli was very bullish about his up-and-coming filly after the race.
“She’s had so much ability all the way through, it was just a matter of getting her fit,” he said.
“I had to make sure Brenton (Avdulla) was right on his game.
“He walked out and didn’t look that interested and I said ‘mate, if this gets up, there’ll be a good drink in it for you. She’s a very very good filly, so ride it like the best horse.’
“This filly is a machine. She works great and I tipped her to Bert (Vieira, owner and breeder).
“We’ve been tipping this horse for about a month now and just everything has come to plan.”
Sky Command jumped well from the outside barrier and Brenton Avdulla allowed the two-year-old to run along and take the lead.
The daughter of Deep Field relished the Heavy 9 conditions, kicking strongly at the top of the straight to lead all the way, winning by 2.59 lengths.
Avdulla said the two-year-old can improve off her debut effort.
“I’d say there’s improvement for sure,” he said.
“I haven’t had a trainer that confident for a while.
“Gaz (Gary Portelli) was pretty confident pre-race and said, ‘ride her confidently and hope she gets through the ground which a lot of the deep field’s do’.
“Nice win, she was a nice, strong filly.
“She did everything right and I’m sure there’s more in store for her.”
