30 April 2010
Top sprinter Wealth Princess warmed up for her Queensland campaign with a winning trials run at Waipa this week. The Te Awamutu mare comfortably beat Palatine by a length and a half in an open 1000m heat, with third placegetter Atapi a further six lengths away.
Wealth Princess recorded 59.88sec for the 1000m, more than a second quicker than other 1000m heat.
"She went super," trainer Brent Gillovic said. "She jumped and led and Michael [rider Michael Walker] never let her head go."
Wealth Princess has changed hands since her last start. She was originally raced by her Kong Kong breeder, Victor Ngai, who sold the San Luis mare to prominent Australian owner Sean Buckley.
However, Wealth Princess will remain in Gillovic's care for her winter campaign, after which she will be transferred to leading Australian trainer Lee Freedman.
Walker, who has had a successful association with Buckley, will ride Wealth Princess in Queensland.
He has not had a raceday mount on the mare but as well as handling her yesterday, he made a trip to Waipa last week, to ride her in a gallop.
Wealth Princess had a break of about six weeks after splitting Tavistock and Mufhasa in the Waikato Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa in February and Gillovic has been happy with her recent progress. "She was quite burly when she came back. She has just turned the corner in the last 10 days and needed that run today."
Wealth Princess is being aimed at the A$1 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) in Brisbane on June 12 but will resume in more modest company at Caloundra on Sunday week.
The four-year-old, who is scheduled to be flown to Brisbane next Wednesday, will tackle an open 1200m at the Sunshine Coast meeting.
That will serve as a lead up to the A$150,000 Group III Glenlogan Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on May 22, with the Stradbroke to follow.
"That's plan A anyway," Gillovic said. "But she doesn't like wet tracks, so we will need to be a bit flexible.
"If thing don't pan out leading into the Stradbroke, we can look at the [Group I] Winter Stakes. That's worth A$500,000, and against the fillies and mares, and might be a better target for her anyway.
"She really has to get into the Stradbroke at the bottom of the weights to be a winning chance."
Wealth Princess, who has had only seven starts, has been a headline act this season.
She won her first five races, including a stunning win the listed Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Ellerslie. She had a rocky run when sixth in the $1 million Telegraph Handicap (1200m) at Trentham and was making her weight-for-age debut, and her first attempt at 1400m, when runner-up in the Group I Waikato Sprint.
