One To Watch - Swan Hill

Mark Smith - Sunday June 10

Darren Weir has put the polish on two of Teofilo's best in the Group 1 winners Palentino and Humidor and the leading trainer has another likely type in the 3yo filly Raptarun who broke her maiden at the first time of asking in a 3yo maiden plate over 1200 metres at Swan Hill on Sunday.

Given a patient ride by Dean Yendall, Raptarun had just one of the eight runners behind on the turn and was standing up a sizeable margin to the frontrunners.

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Making her run down the centre of the track, the daughter of Teofilo (IRE) was doing her best work in the final hundred metres to down Battleborn (Rock 'n' Pop) by two and a quarter lengths with Talk'emaround (Poet's Voice) a half-length back in third.


The homebred is the fourth winner out of the Jugah mare Brookes who failed to break her maiden in 19 starts.

A half-sister to the Listed winner Country Born (Prego), Brookes is also the dam of the prolific winner Believe In More (More Than Ready) the winner of 12 of his 60 starts while banking $265,162.

Raptarun could well be the final foal of Brookes who was not covered in 2014 and has not had a mare return to the Stud Book since.

The most successful son of Galileo to stand at stud in Australia, Teofilo (IRE) (pictured ) returns to Darley Stud in 2018 where he stands for a fee of $44,000 alongside his Group 1 ATC Doncaster Mile winning son Kermadec whose fee has been set at $16,500.

Darren Weir's Group 1 VRC Australian Guineas and Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes winner Palentino covered 112 mares in his debut season last spring and will stand for an unchanged fee of $17,600 at Sun Stud in 2018.

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