3 minute read
Hawkesbury trainer Matthew Vella says he might be forced into pitting today’s impressive Orange winner Silent Tryst against city opposition sooner than he had intended.
The beautifully-bred daughter of Golden Slipper winner Sebring took her record to two wins and three placings from only five starts when she outclassed her rivals in the Class 2 Handicap (1400m).
Silent Tryst went to the post a well-backed $2 favorite and rider Alysha Collett took bad luck out of the equation by putting the filly into a winning position soon after the jump, trailing leader Into The Fire ($5).
Once Collett tested Silent Tryst on straightening, she quickly put the issue beyond doubt and surged clear to clinch the day's easiest win, scoring by nearly four lengths from Zou Island ($5), with Duchess Adele ($9) grabbing third placing.
"Silent Tryst is putting together a good record," Vella said this evening en route from the track, hoping some road closures would not prevent him from safely navigating the return trip home.
"She is just starting to learn how to put a field away, and it was good to see her do that today.
"We had hoped to ride her off the pace, but she began so well that Alysha made the right move and easily got her into a beautiful spot.
"I really don't want to push her into town yet as she has been a slow maturing filly and is still a preparation away before reaching her peak.
"However, I might not have any option now as her Benchmark rating keeps rising."
A $420,000 yearling purchase at the Gold Coast two years ago, Silent Tryst is the first foal of the Fastnet Rock mare Miss Foxwood, who won three races and was placed 10 times from 18 starts in New Zealand.
Vella prepares the filly for Sir Owen Glenn's Go Bloodstock Australia, and she had clearly the best form going into today's race, dropping back from provincial to country class.
She won first-up at Gosford on January 27 in a 1200m Maiden Plate on soft ground before finishing second – albeit by a big margin – to subsequent city winner Dundee Lee in a Benchmark 64 Handicap (1400m) at Newcastle on February 18.
"I didn't have any concern about the filly's fitness as she had done plenty of work since Newcastle nor the wet track when the rain arrived," Vella said.
Vella took three horses to the Orange meeting (Collett rode all of them), which began on a good surface and was downgraded to a "Soft 5" for Silent Tryst's race and then a "Soft 7" for the final two events.
Under Orders ($7) ran a good second to hotpot Californian ($1.65) in the Maiden Plate (1600m), and $1.95 favorite Costa Del Mar had plenty of luck – but none of it good – when seventh in the Maiden Plate (1000m).
Thankfully, Silent Tryst saved the day and provided her trainer with his fifth victory of the season, and the 84th for Hawkesbury trainers since August 1.
Vella's talented three-year-old Blaze A Trail hasn't raced since finishing fifth to ATC Derby hopeful Sky Lab in a Benchmark 78 Handicap (1600m) at Royal Randwick on February 6, but is in work.
"He had a setback and will go back to the trials once this wet weather clears," Vella said.
. Tomorrow's scheduled Hawkesbury trial session has been cancelled because of the heavy rain, and a new set of trials has been programmed for Warwick Farm's Polytrack circuit on Tuesday.
