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Raison D'Etre breaks maiden at Canterbury
The familiar team of James Cummings and James McDonald teamed up at Canterbury on Wednesday as Raison D'Etre (3 f Exceed and Excel - Abduction by Street Cry) broke her maiden at the third attempt in the Bowermans Commercial Furniture Maiden Handicap (1200m).
Having finished second and fourth respectively in two starts as a juvenile, there was no mistaking the winner on Wednesday as she pulled away to beat Elizabeel (Power) by three lengths, while Spirituality (Spirit Of Boom) finished another neck away in third.
Known for her inability to settle as a two-year-old, Raison D’Etre was visibly more relaxed on Wednesday and Cummings glowing in his praise for the filly.
“She hasn’t been quite settled in the mind in the past and she has taken a bit more time to demonstrate it and put the writing on the wall but you’ve got to be delighted with that, running into a strong headwind all the way from the gates and she settled beautifully,” Cummings said.
“She sprinted away from them like a very classy racehorse.
“I think she has got the makings of a black-type horse.”
Bred and raced by Godolphin, Raison D'Etre is the only foal to race out of Reginald Allen Handicap (Listed, 1400m) winner Abduction (Street Cry).
Abduction herself is a daughter of Listed scorer Hold To Ransom (Red Ransom), making her a half-sister to dual Group 3 winner Retrieve (Rahy) and three-time Listed winner Reparations (Exceed And Excel).
Meanwhile, Hold To Ransom herself is a half-sister to Grade 2 scorer Blingo (Arite Schiller) and the dam of dual Grade 1 winner Prince Bishop (Dubawi).
Abduction has a two-year-old filly by Teofilo (Galileo) - named Abenaki - while her yearling filly is by Coolmore Stud’s Pierro (Lonhro) and she has most recently been covered again by Exceed And Excel (Danehill).
Exceed And Excel's progeny is headed by 15 top-flight winners including Microphone, who will stand his first season alongside his sire at Darley's Kelvinside in 2020, while fellow elite level winner Exceedance will join the Vinery Stud roster this spring. Exceed And Excel himself will stand for $132,000 (inc GST) at Kelvinside.
