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Ebony Flyer, the South African version of Black Caviar, showed she is back to her best with an emphatic victory in the Grade 3 Diana Stakes (1400m) at Durbanville in the Cape on Saturday.
Photo by equineedge.co.za
The big black filly returned after 280 days off, which included a wind operation, but although still a bit bulky, she was on her toes in the parade ring and appeared fit.
The start was slightly delayed as In Like Flynn and Barcelona Winter broke through the front of the stalls. Both horses were reloaded but it unsettled In Like Flynn who fly-leaped as the gates opened and lost a length.
Ebony Flyer jumped on terms and settled into second on the rail behind Barcelona Winter, with Hollywoodboulevard and Frequent Flyer on her tail. Approaching the 600m mark, Andrew Fortune on Barcelona Winter slowed the pace right down forcing long striding Ebony Flyer to move around her to take up the lead.
Photo by equineedge.co.za
At the 300m mark Felix Coetzee loosen the reins a notch and the filly extended her lead to win comfortably under a hands and heels ride by two lengths. Barcelona Winter hung on for a brave second, followed by Frequent Flyer and Hollywoodboulevard.
The filly will come on from this run and while she will be contending the Summer Season in the Cape, her ultimate aim is the Queen's Plate over 1600m on the 7th of January.
Justin Snaith, the filly's trainer, admitted that he was fooled by filly's work at home.
“We are a long way off with her, I didn't realise how much work we still need to do.” The ideal was one more run and then the Queen's Plate, but she is obviously quite unfit still” commented Snaith.
“She came out softly and she was travelling relaxed behind the leader. She has such an enormous stride so you have got to let her use herself. She took it up easily and it was like pace work for her” added Felix Coetzee.
Coetzee ended by thanking Snaith for sparing him from having to ride the filly when she first came back into work.
“Justin rode her in her first few days back as she has a massive buck and it is a long way down from there.”
Photo be quineedge.co.zay
Ebony Flyer is by Jet Master out of Sunshine Lover and has now won five of her six starts for her owners Team Valor and Mrs G Rupert's Drakenstein Stud.
No Horse Jockey Kg Fin Dist Time SP
1 EBONY FLYER Felix Coetzee 60.0 1 0.00 87.40 3/105 BARCELONA WINTER Andrew Fortune 60.0 2 2.00 87.78 9/1
6 FREQUENT FLYER Karis Teetan 60.0 3 3.00 87.97 40/13 HOLLYWOODBOULEVARD (AUS) Karl Neisius 60.0 4 6.25 88.61 75/20
10 DARK JOURNEY Grant Van Niekerk *0.0 53.5 5 7.50 88.85 66/14 IN LIKE FLYNN Glen Hatt 60.0 6 11.00 89.54 22/1
