breednet.com.au

Out of the fire into the frying pan for talented Queensland filly

Ben Dorries - Thursday August 24

Stuart Kendrick wouldn't be shocked if his talented filly Italia Bella wins on resuming but is worried she may get too far back over 1100m at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Advertisement
Italia Bella was evacuated away from the Sunshine Coast bushfire last week but
Stuart Kendrick's promising filly resumes at the Gold Coast on Saturday

The Sunshine Coast trainer has such a high opinion of the Fastnet Rock filly he has thrown in nominations for the Group I Thousand Guineas at Caulfield and the Group I Golden Rose at Rosehill.

Italia Bella is still a maiden but her three starts have all been in Listed company, most recently running second in The Phoenix at Doomben on June 3.

Sportsbet has her at $4.60 for the QTIS 3YO Handicap on the Gold Coast on Saturday in a market headed by Kelly Schweida's recent Randwick winner and Golden Rose aspirant Shogun Sun ($3.60).

Italia Bella was one of the horses who had to be evacuated from Kendrick's Sunshine Coast stables last Saturday when a bushfire raged close by.

The move was mainly for precautionary reasons – and so smoke inhalation did not become a problem for the horses.

Kendrick says Italia Bella performed well in a recent jumpout but he admits he is concerned the 1100m will be too short on the tight Gold Coast circuit.

"She has come along well after the Queensland winter carnival but I am concerned about the Gold Coast 1100m, because she is a big striding filly and a big gangly thing," Kendrick said.

"I would have loved her over more distance on a bigger track but she has to kick off somewhere.

"I think 1400m-1600m is probably her ideal distance, so she will probably be chasing a fair way out on Saturday.

"Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if she won because she has got a lot of natural ability.

"It's just that she will be better suited over further on a bigger track."

Group I winning jockey Damian Browne will ride on Saturday and Kendrick says he has lofty ambitions for the filly.

"This filly has shown me heaps and I would love to see her end up in a race like the Thousand Guineas," he said.

"She has got plenty of length and a massive big stride so a race like that could potentially be nice for her."

Kendrick indicated another promising three year-old filly, Marseille En Fleur, was back in work and could trial next week on the Sunshine Coast.

Marseille En Fleur, who won her first two starts in Queensland earlier this year and ran second in the Listed Winning Edge at Doomben, has also been nominated for the Thousand Guineas.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Spywire Adds to Trapeze Artist Spring Success
Trapeze Artist has had plenty of success this spring with new Group winners Panova and Piggyback and his good form continued at the standalone meeting at Kembla on Saturday with a first up win for talented sprinter Spywire, who has a half-brother headed to Magic Millions 2026.
Gringotts Becomes a $6million Man - Half-Brother K1 2026
Placing a horse to advantage in the modern world where there seems to be a million dollar race every second week is something an astute trainer can really work well for their owners and no trainer has done it better than Ciaron Maher with high class 6YO Gringotts (NZ), whose half-brother will be offered at Karaka Book 1 in 2026.
Sires With Winners - Saturday November 22
Here is the full list of 129 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Favourite Salutes in Railway - First G1 Winner for Awesome Rock
The cream rises to the top, so the saying goes - That was never more true than at Ascot yesterday, when WA’s leading jockey, stable and owner all made their presence felt in no uncertain terms - and there was a nice little twist in the tale!
All The Way Win For Jigsaw In $1m Meteorite
Arguably in career best form, the Cindy Alderson trained Jigsaw produced an all-the-way winning performance to capture the $1m Meteorite (1200m) at Cranbourne on Saturday, giving his sire Manhattan Rain both feature race winners at the meeting.
New SW Reliable Man- Final Return Wins G3 Counties Cup
Comeback jockey Elen Nicholas took her career to its greatest heights yet with a masterful ride aboard Final Return to take out the Gr.3 MyRacehorse Counties Cup (2100m) at Pukekohe on Saturday.
Almanzor Mare Wins G2 Breeders Stakes
Perennial black-type bridesmaid Qali Al Farrasha shed that unwanted tag in outstanding fashion when she downed a quality line-up of mares in Saturday’s Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe.
Peters Investments Produce New SW for Maurice
A homebred for Peters Investments, progressive gelding Cosmic Crusader became a new stakes-winner for his sire Maurice (Jpn) when taking out the $125,000 Listed WATC Carbine Club of WA Stakes (1400m) at Ascot on Saturday.
Listed Cranbourne Cup To Manhattan Rain’s Promising Sabaj
Highlighted by many as their best bet leading into Saturday’s racing despite drawing one of widest barriers in the $500,000 Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m), the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr trained Manhattan Rain 4yo Sabaj looks to have better things ahead of him after his stylish victory.
Zousain Mare Wins $300,000 The Warra
The Kembla standalone meeting on Saturday was run in relentless mist and light rain, but the gloomy conditions didn’t dampen the turn of foot possessed by talented Zousain mare Catch the Glory, who powered to the line to win the $300,000 The Warra (1000m).