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After combining to land the last race on Sunday with Gilt Complex, trainer John O’Hara and owners Graham Mackie and Trish Dunell picked up where they left off with another winner in Delfyne in Friday’s first race.
The all-green and silver triangle silks could not have hoped for a better tonic after their banner horse Spalato was scratched from the Group 1 Raffles Cup on Sunday itself, with their Singapore Gold Cup plans also scrapped.
While Gilt Complex’s third win from five runs, which came in a Class 4 race over 1600m as the $12 favourite, cemented his status as one of O’Hara’s and Mackie’s better horses, Delfyne, a five-year-old mare by Rusty Spur was at her maiden success in the $35,000 Class 5 Division 1 race over 1000m on Polytrack.
Just like Gilt Complex, Delfyne was also the punters’ elect at $22, though her more modest record of three placings in eight starts might not have pleaded for such a quote.
But a drop in class coupled with a solid barrier trial where she ran fourth to Slew Of Lode last Thursday week eventually made her turn out to be a smart bet.
Beginning the best in the 12-horse field, Delfyne shot to the front under Kif Toh’s urgings and she was never in doubt from there on in.
Dr Octopus (Michael Rodd), who trucked up in second spot, was the only one who tried to launch an assault on her inside the last furlong, but he was not to deny O’Hara’s gutsy mare her account opener.
Delfyne fell in by a neck form Dr Octopus with Super Joy (Oscar Chavez) third another length away. The winning time was 59.52 seconds for the 1000m on the Polytrack.
“It’s nice to get two wins one after another, even if it’s over two different days!” said O’Hara. “Especially for Graham and Trish who flew in last week to see Spalato race, but it wasn't to be. At least those two have won and will give them some consolation.
“I thought she had her chance in a Class 5 race. At her last two runs, she was running against those two Steven Burridge horses (Risky Rockefeller and Vanderbilt) and didn’t do too badly.
“She trialled very well last week and against such weak opposition tonight, she had to be considered.”
Toh said he felt nothing special about Delfyne when he trialled her last week, other than she was fit and well, but she certainly turned it on come raceday.
“I trialled her last Thursday and she went all right. Mr O’Hara told me to go forward and after she jumped well, I hunted her a little and she found the lead quite well.
“I was worried another horse would come around and chase us but we were left alone. I was able to balance her up and in the straight, she did her best to win a very nice race.”