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Felicia not for catching in How Now Stakes

The Dean Binaisse-trained Felicia (4 m ex Los Feliz by Shamardal) produced an impressive display to win the How Now Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday and in so doing provided the late Three Bridges-based sire Unencumbered (Testa Rossa) with his second stakes winner. 

As the field entered the straight the four-year-old mare had already put daylight between herself and the rest of the pack and she proved too hard to catch, beating Broadwayandfourth (Smart Missile) by two lengths, while Fiesta (I Am Invincible) was another head away in third. Felicia has now won four of her nine starts and placed another four times for earnings of $304,600. 

The mare is one of two winners out of the unraced Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) mare Los Feliz, who was purchased by G Ballantyne for $15,000 at the 2016 Inglis Great Southern Weanling and Bloodstock Sale carrying Felicia in utero. 

The mare’s third dam is Group 2 winner Real Success (Success Express) - the dam of 2004 Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m) winner Vouvray (Zabeel) and Listed winner Bolton (Zabeel). 

Real Success herself is the grandam of Thorndon Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) winner A Touch Of Ruby (Pins) and Loire (Redoute’s Choice), who won last year’s New Zealand 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m). 

Felicia joins Mirette as the Unencumbered other stakes winner and he died due to complications from throat surgery to treat progressive chondritis in 2018.