A pair of CAPITALIST fillies elevated Proven Thoroughbreds’ seasonal tally of winners to 50 on Friday night.
Trainer Matt Hoysted bookended the Sunshine Coast twilight meeting with the debutante CHAMPAGNE LANE and promising 3yo BREAK FREE (pictured).
A first starter stepping out always comes with an air of trepidation, especially when the marketplace deems you a $1.70 chance. And as Murphy’s Law would have it, the watch was never easy even in victory!
For the connections of CHAMPAGNE LANE, which included Hoysted and his wife Caitlin, Friday’s seven horse 2yo fillies Maiden was as stressful as debuts get.
The filly objected to the commotion generated by the big crowd around the enclosure and point blank refused to parade.
Then, a lengthy stint in the gates only served to agitate the juvenile even more resulting in a noticeably tardy getaway.
Yet, all’s well that ends well and after the almost comical series of setbacks, CHAMPAGNE LANE duly delivered by just under a length on the line, delighting her large throng of owners.
“I thought she was very impressive today. She was very overreactive but she won on raw ability today and I think when the penny drops she will make a racehorse,” winning rider Nikita Beriman said.
Beriman was also aboard stablemate BREAK FREE in the closing event, having partnered the 3yo filly in all three of her previous starts which yielded two impressive wins before a midfield finish in the Group 3 Vo Rogue Plate (1300m).
First-up since December, the Heavy (10) conditions were hardly ideal but BREAK FREE showed her class in a dominant 3-length victory in the 1000m BM60 contest.
Beriman is an unabashed fan of BREAK FREE and Friday’s win only reinforced her faith in the filly’s potential.
“I didn’t want to take her out of her comfort zone to hold a handy spot because I was always confident that it was going to open up for her,” Beriman said.
“She handled the track really well and put them away nicely.”
BREAK FREE was a $110,000 Inglis Classic yearling from Highgrove Stud while CHAMPAGNE LANE is a Newgate Farm product, purchased for $120,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The winning double means Proven Thoroughbreds has broken the half century milestone of winners in four of the last five seasons. With still two months to run on the 2024-25 term, we are hopeful of breaking our record of 61 winners in a season.