Sydney, January 16 – There was plenty of interest at Rosehill on Saturday when Elimbari, the three-quarter sister by Fastnet Rock to former boom filly Amelia’s Dream stepped out and while she might not have the brilliance of her freakishly good sibling, there was still plenty to like about her determined long head win over another smart filly in Celts.
A winner at her only two previous barrier trials at the provincial tracks, the Kris Lees trained filly was sent out favourite and after settling midfield charged home with a powerful sprint to get the better of Lonhro filly Celts in the 1100 metre dash with four and a half lengths back to the third horse.
“It was a good learning curve for her,” Lees said. “We came down with a good impression of her from her work and her provincial barrier trials, but you don’t really know until you see them do it under race conditions.
“She had a tough run in transit and it was a good tough effort.”
Winning rider Hugh Bowman said he had to forget his pre-race ideas on how to ride Elimbari when the filly suffered interference on the first corner.
“There was a lot of pace up front,” Bowman said. “A few in front of me didn’t know where they wanted to be.
“The one inside me sort of ran off on the first turn so I had to forget tactics and keep my horse balanced and happy after that. She’s got class.”
Retained to race by her breeders, Elimbari was foaled and raised at Yarraman Park and is the seventh foal and fifth winner for stakes-wining St Covet mare Shalt Not, who shot to fame as a broodmare with the emergence of brilliant filly Amelia’s Dream, sold under the Yarraman banner for $250,000 at the 2007 Magic Millions Yearling Sale.
The Gai Waterhouse trained Amelia’s Dream started just twice, winning by more than nine lengths at Canterbury on debut in February 2008 and then breaking the course record at Rosehill when winning the Group Two STC Silver Slipper Stakes by more than six lengths.
She broke down badly in the aftermath of that win and did not race again despite extensive rehabilitation and an aborted comeback, the daughter of Redoute’s Choice now safely in foal to champion sire Encosta de Lago having been covered for the first time last spring.
Shalt Not was offered at the 2008 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale by Yarraman Park on behalf of her owners with Marcus Corban securing the mare for $1,050,000 for Cambridge Stud.