Well-related Trelawney Stud filly Madiyya signed off her three-year-old season with a third straight win, this time over 1600m in the A$150,000 Rod Griffiths Handicap at Caulfield on Saturday.
The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Madiyya has made a big impression in a four-race campaign this autumn. She made her debut with a second placing over 1200m at Pakenham in late March, followed by wins in a 1400m maiden at Sale on April 20, a 1400m three-year-old handicap at Caulfield on May 10, and Saturday’s victory over 1600m.
Madiyya drew the outside gate in Saturday’s 10-horse field, forcing Luke Currie to ride her further back than the midfield tactics that produced her previous wins. She was last until just before the home turn, when Currie swooped around the outside to make his bid.
With a sustained run, Madiyya bounded home out wide and hit the lead with just over 100m to run. She may have felt the effects of those efforts in the final few strides, allowing a late-closing I Only Wish to reduce the margin to a neck, but Madiyya held on to complete her hat-trick of wins.
“She was actually a bit better out of the gates today than she was last time,” Currie said. “The way she raced today, she would have landed a lot closer if she’d drawn better. It meant we had to loop the field off a soft tempo, so it was a good effort from where we were.
“She was brilliant last time and was probably a bit more tradesmanlike today, but we had enough at the line to get the win without being too hard on her. She’s going to furnish with a bit more time. She’s certainly heading the right way.”
Madiyya’s four starts have produced three wins, a second, and A$187,050 in stakes for owners Brent and Cherry Taylor.
Madiyya is by outstanding young Waikato Stud stallion Super Seth and is a half-sister to dual Group One winner and sire Grunt, in addition to Group Two winning mare Zayydani. The latter played an important role for the Hayes brothers as they established their careers after the relocation of their father David to Hong Kong, with Zayydani both the first winner for the new-look Lindsay Park and first stakes winner.
“I was just on the phone to Cherry Taylor, who’s very, very happy with this win,” Ben Hayes said. “This filly has done a great job to win three in a row, and today’s win was good. She produced a long, sustained run and has ticked off the mile.
“This has been a fantastic family for us, with Zayydani a pin-up horse in the early days of our training partnership. Trelawney have been great supporters of the stable. Now we’d love to try to get some black type with this filly, potentially in her next preparation.
“We know this family very well and she’s beautifully bred. You’d think, the way she won today – strong through the line and doing everything right – that she might get up over 2000m in her next prep. But she’s not a big horse and has a bit more growing to do. She’s done a fantastic job to go through the grades in this first preparation and win some good prize money.
“She can go for a break now, and then we’ll have a never nice horse for the spring. Maybe we can try to target a race that Zayydani won.”
Hayes may have been referring to either the Gr.2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington or the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m). Zayydani scored back-to-back wins in those races in November of 2021. – NZ Racing Desk.
