To the delight of her posse of owners, APEX PREDATOR made it two out of two when leading throughout in Saturday’s 2yo opener at Doomben.
The smart TIGER OF MALAY filly had shown her midweek rivals a clean pair of heels just over 3 weeks ago. The step up from 1200m to 1350m at the same track proved to be no hurdle, as the rising 3yo again led from barrier to box.
Trainer Matt Hoysted had originally planned to spell the $35,000 sale ring bargain. However she did so well that the lure of a substantial QTIS bonus was reason enough to extend the preparation.
“I was very impressed with the way she handled herself today but unusually, she’s again ripped off a front plate on jumping, exactly as she did on debut,” Hoysted revealed.
“She can now head to the paddock for a 4-6 week break. You’d think with the promise she’s shown this prep and being able to absorb what she’s learned this campaign, that she’ll continue to keep improving.”
On the hunt! Apex Predator makes it two from two 💪@ChesterJag @hoystedracing @ProvenTbreds @BrisRacingClub @RaceQLD pic.twitter.com/m0mWQEYwCL
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 11, 2026
Rider Jag Guthmann-Chester, whilst conceding the filly still isn’t the finished product, was full of praise.
“She’s got a lot of natural ability, good speed and importantly comes back underneath you when asked,” he said.
With a stamina-based pedigree and a recent 2000m Flemington winner amongst her siblings, APEX PREDATOR looks destined to compete in much longer (and hopefully better!) races when she returns next season.
It was win number 41 for the Proven team in 2025-26. With the lucrative QTIS bonus for fillies, APEX PREDATOR collected a healthy $85,550 in prizemoney, taking our total earnings for the season past $3.4m.