Astute trainer Mark Newnham has had some good success with gorgeous grey fillies, think Greysful Glamour and Harmony Rose, and we suspect he may have another that made a winning debut at Hawkesbury on Sunday.
Two year-old Reliable Man (GB) filly Silvakia was set a bit of a task facing a 1300m maiden first up against older rivals, but proved well up to the task.
Placed at her only previous trials in June and July, Silvakia stepped away a little slowly from an outside gate, but Tom Sherry had no hesitation in driving the filly forward and she circled the field to find the fence in front.
She was entitled to get tired in the straight, but didn’t, keeping up a good gallop all the way to the line to score by the best part of a length and we suspect this will be the first win of many.
An $80,000 Karaka Book 1 purchase for Mark Newnham Bloodstock from the Westbury Stud draft, Silvakia is the first winner for Encosta de Lago mare Slovakian, a grand-daughter of Gerry Harvey’s former top class Zabeel mare Zastov.
Zastov placed in the Group I ATC Doncaster and Epsom, but frustratingly retired without a stakes win to her name. She might not have the BOLD BLACK TYPE to say she was a good horse, but for those of us who remember, she was top class.
Westbury Stud’s Reliable Man had a great weekend in Australia with three winners, Lord Ardmore winning at Rosehill on Saturday while Silvakia brought up a double at Hawkesbury with the John O’Shea trained three year-old Count on Me winning the first race.
