While Stephen Marsh was putting his hand up at Karaka yesterday, stable foreman Rhys Mildon was saddling up another winner for the Cambridge stable at Te Teko.
Demelza (Matt Cameron) putting her act together with a decisive win at Te Teko yesterday.
Marsh, like most of the country’s top trainers, was busy trying to sort out the next potential superstar in the sale ring at the Premier Session of the National Yearling Sales, as was Albert Bosma, of Go Racing Syndications.
Amid all the action they were pleased to find out Demelza, an O’Reilly four-year-old mare, had finally broken through for her first win in her sixth start.
Demelza was bought by Go Racing Ltd from the 2014 Select Yearling Sales for $60,000 and, though she is a long way from refunding her purchase price, the manner in which she won yesterday’s Tracks Concrete Ltd 1600 suggests there is more success in store.
“Stephen has always had a lot of time for her, but it’s taken her a long time for the penny to drop,” said Mildon. “She’s got the ability and it’s good to see her do that.”
Demelza had a couple of trials and four races in her first campaign and her best result was a sixth second-up over 1400 metres at Matamata. In the last of those four runs she hung badly throughout at Dargaville when stepped up to 2000 metres.
After a good break, Demelza reappeared at the Te Aroha trials last October and won over 1000 metres, beating Neddy Nadeem, who has since been twice runner-up on raceday, and Lausanne, who followed up with a debut win at Te Aroha the following month.
Demelza then headed to Ruakaka when she finished 10th of 13 after failing to get a fair crack at the leaders in the run home.
“She was trapped on the rail and nothing went right for her,” said Mildon.
However, yesterday it all fell into place for Demelza with rider Matt Cameron settling her seventh and presenting her with a clear run in the home straight.
Cameron started working on Demelza approaching the home turn and as he kept pumping she gathered momentum and ranged up to the leaders with 200 metres to run.
Over the final stages she drew clear to win by two and a half lengths from All Razzle Dazzle, who had to settle for her 11th placing.
