Balmain Girl completes perfect form puzzle
A run-of-the-mill Sydney midweek race has confirmed its status as a goldmine for future winners with Balmain Girl scoring at Warwick Farm.
A filly which couldn’t manage a place in three previous starts, Balmain Girl has probably created a quirky piece of racing history for herself with a determined win in the TAB Rewards Maiden Plate on Wednesday.
In an extraordinary sequence, Balmain Girl becomes the last of the six horses to contest a race won by Yuma Desert at Canterbury on May 11 to come out and win at their next start.
Yuma Desert has since scored again, the runner-up Tough As Teak broke through at Newcastle and the third placegetter Louie Sea Kay delivered at Kembla Grange.
But the form goes even deeper behind fourth-placed Balmain Girl with Rakitno and Force The Issue also successful at their next runs.
Trainer Les Bridge was sure he had Balmain Girl ready to produce when she resumed in the Canterbury race.
“I thought she could win first-up,” Bridge said.
“It was really disappointing but I probably miscued with the fitness and she’s come good today.”
Balmain Girl had some support as a $9 chance before holding off the favourite Pepperberry ($3.40) by a head.
A rain-affected track has helped import Zourkhan redeem himself in swift fashion for trainer Chris Waller.
Backing up after finishing out of the placings at Canterbury last week, Zourkhan ($4.20) relished the soft conditions to beat stablemate El Novio by three-quarters of a length.
“Hopefully this can be the start of something,” Waller’s racing manager Charlie Duckworth said.
“He only had a few starts in Europe, so hopefully he can take a lot of confidence from this.”
Raiment has become Godolphin’s latest Australian two-year-old winner with her victory in the Pro-Ride Maiden Plate.
With more than 20 lengths covering the field, Raiment lived up to her $2.05 favouritism to deny Foxplay and Khaki.
Raiment was forced to cover ground before her Woodlands Stud Stakes placing at Scone and she had a much easier time in front on Wednesday after jockey James McDonald took the early initiative.
“She’s stakes placed and has now won in town so hopefully she can go on with it in the spring,” trainer John O’Shea said.