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Impecunious among four Kiwi bred winners at Caulfield

3 minute read

Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young unveiled New Zealand recruit Impecunious on Wednesday and the highly-touted three-year-old didn’t disappoint when winning the Neds Same Race Multi Handicap (1200m) at Caulfield.

IMPECUNIOUS winning the Neds Same Race Multi Handicap in Caulfield, Australia.
IMPECUNIOUS winning the Neds Same Race Multi Handicap in Caulfield, Australia. Picture: Racing Photos

Ridden by Damien Oliver, the staying bred filly came from back in the field to power over the top late, impressing the ace jockey.

"She's a nice scopey, staying type of filly," Oliver said.

"The pace was quite strong and she never really took me into the race. I had to niggle at her to stay in touch. She could be a candidate for some blinkers down the track.

"She's a filly that is going to get over 1400m, a mile and maybe even further and when the tempo comes out of the race, she will travel even better."

Impecunious  was a $140,000 purchase for Riccarton trainer Michael Pitman at New Zealand Bloodstock's National Yearling Sale and is a daughter of the winning Zabeel mare Sheezababe, who was also runner-up in the Listed New Zealand St Leger.

The second dam Honor Babe won the Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m).

Impecunious finished third on debut for Pitman and his training partner, son Matthew, before she was successful at Riccarton during the winter.

Those performances courted the attention of high-profile Australian owner Ozzie Kheir, who successfully purchased the filly and now races her with a number of partners, including original owner Chris Griffin.

Young indicated Impecunious will be aimed towards fillies features at the Sydney Autumn Carnival.

"We got her over and gave her a little prep and we just thought that she wasn't quite coming to hand for the spring, so we thought we'd just look after her and wait until the autumn," she said.

"Judging by that she's going to progress into a nice filly during the autumn and hopefully we can get up to Sydney for one of those nice races."

"You'd think being by Sacred Falls out of a Zabeel mare that she would be going towards an Oaks but she's won over 1000m and winning here over 1200m, I don't know, you might go towards a Surround Stakes (Gr.1, 1400m) or something like that."

Young said Impecunious could have her next start at Flemington on New Year's Day in an benchmark 70 handicap for fillies and mares over 1400 metres.

"If she wins that (race at Flemington) then you've got a serious filly on your hands," she said.

Busuttin and Young also sent out Savabeel four-year-old Astraeus to win over 2000m at his first attempt under apprentice Lachlan King, narrowly defeating Tavistock gelding Playoffs.

"He keeps stepping up this horse, he's had a great preparation and was a bit unlucky last start at Pakenham but he's bred to get this trip," Young said.

Later on the program Contributer filly Benefactress made it back to back wins for Flemington trainers Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra, with Zahra indicating the filly would now head for a break and be set for the Gr.1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) in Adelaide.

The filly was sold by Mapperley Stud, home of exciting young sire Contributer, for $15,000 as a weanling to Tony Ottobre.

Also successful on the Caulfield card was progressive four-year-old mare Kurabui who maintained her perfect record with two starts for two wins.

Kurabui is a Proisir half-sister to Group Two winner Surprise Baby and was an impressive winner on debut when winning at Pakenham over 1400m and relished the step up to 1600m on Wednesday for trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
NZ Racing News

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