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The decision to move the Listed O’Learys Fillies’ Stakes (1340m) to a new position on the calendar has worked wonders for Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh, who has now won both December runnings of the Wanganui feature.
Previously staged in September, the Fillies' Stakes was shifted to its new date last season and Marsh won it with Glamour Tycoon. He targeted the same race again on Saturday with promising filly Hitabell, and again he pulled it off.
"It's been a good little race for us," Marsh said. "We won it last year with Glamour Tycoon , who actually came out today and kicked off her new campaign with a terrific run for third at Ellerslie. Now we've won it again with what I think might be a pretty nice filly."
The $80,000 race was the fourth career start for Hitabell, who had scored a smart front-running win on debut over 1100m at Taupo in early October before finishing fifth in a star-studded Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie. In her only other start, she was badly blocked in the straight when seventh at Ellerslie on November 5.
Jockey Courtney Barnes reverted to those winning front-running tactics on Saturday, sending Hitabell straight to the lead and dominating the race from there. After enjoying a slight breather coming down the side of the track, Hitabell upped the ante again at the turn and kicked clear at the top of the home straight.
Favourite Celestial Wonder briefly loomed as a danger on her outside, but Hitabell shook her off and reached the finish line with a margin of three-quarters of a length up her sleeve. Romilly produced an eye-catching finish from the back of the field to run third.
"She pinged out of the gates, which really made my mind up for me to go forward," Barnes said. "She travelled really well once she got there. From about the 800m to the 600m, I got a couple of soft sectionals, which definitely helped. She kicked really strongly after that.
"Being in front around Wanganui, I knew from the turn that she was going to be pretty hard to beat."
Hitabell was bought by Stephen Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock for just $9500 from the 2023 National Online Yearling Sale on Gavelhouse Plus. She has had four starts for two wins and $61,860 in stakes.
"We didn't pay much for her on Gavelhouse and now she's a stakes winner and quite a valuable filly," Marsh said. "We've since gone back and bought a full-sister as well, so it's worked out beautifully.
"She's a really nice filly. She won very well on debut, then had those couple of runs at Ellerslie and was probably unlucky not to win one of them, and now she's come out and led all the way in a black-type race.
"We'll get her home now and work out what we do next. We could have a look at a race like the Eight Carat (Gr.2, 1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day."
The third individual stakes winner for Cambridge Stud stallion Embellish, Hitabell is out of a half-sister to the Eight Carat Classic, Gr.2 Royal Stakes (2000m) and Gr.2 Sir Tristram Fillies' Classic winner Shikoba. That daughter of Chief Bearhart also placed in the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) and Gr.1 New Zealand Stakes (2000m), and she was New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year in 2005-06.