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Wednesday’s Canterbury meeting saw several impressive winners throughout the card with many of them looking towards bigger spoils in the spring.
The Chris Waller-trained Devil Hawk kicked off proceedings with an impressive 2L victory over the $1.30 stablemate Metallic Crown in the Schweppes Maiden Plate (1250m) for three-year-old Colts and Geldings.
Returning a Timeform figure of 93p, the full brother to Hawkspur launched a strong finishing burst under Tye Angland to run over the top of Metallic Crown who led throughout and looks destined to play some part during the spring.
Waller will more than likely look towards a Saturday race over the coming weeks for the three-year-old colt and the provisional rating indicates there is more to come for Devil Hawk.
The son of Purrealist will more than likely improve up in trip with brother Hawkspur winning from 1600m-2400m.
Having run a good third behind Sebring Sun last start, Metallic Crown was unable to go on with it but no doubt looks likely to shed the maiden tag soon, retuning a much improved figure of 86.
Just one race later the three-year-old maiden fillies lined up in the Tab.com.au Plate (1250m) with the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Serene Majesty producing a very impressive effort to win by 5.3L.
Settling up on the speed from the wide barrier with Blake Shinn in the saddle, Serene Majesty swept to the lead at the top of the straight, kicking well clear of her rivals over the concluding stages.
Retuning a Timeform figure of 92+, the daughter of Fastnet Rock showed good improvement on her debut effort last preparation which returned a figure of 87.
Peter Snowden indicated there are some fillies races during the spring he is looking at for Serene Majesty and he is confident she will improve as she goes up in trip.
Whilst there was not a great deal in the beaten brigade, Serene Majesty showed her versatility by settling up on the speed with the slow tempo and as she goes up in trip could be even more devastating when off the speed.
Serene Majesty ran the 1250m in 1.15.02, slightly quicker than that of Devil Hawk 1.15.06.
Other winners of the day included the Chris Waller-trained Laucala who broke through in the McGrath Estate Agents Maiden Handicap (1550m) in her third career outing.
Having placed in both previous outings, the three-year-old filly ran on strongly from back in the field to grab a 0.8L victory over More Than Fabulous to return a Timeform figure of 93 off a mark of 87 last start at Warwick Farm.
Following the win, Waller wasn’t ruling out a step up to stakes company for the progressive filly who has improved in each of her three outings to date when going up in trip.Second placegetter More Than Fabulous continued his run of placings, having now featured in the money in six of his nine starts without a win.
The David Payne-trained runner ran a peak Timeform figure of 92 and whilst he keeps finding one better does not look far away from a win.
Other notable winners include the Ron Quinton-trained Lucky Can Be who resumed off a six month break with a handy victory in the Cellarbrations Benchmark 65 Handicap (1100m).
The win brought the four-year-old mares second in as many career starts, improving off her 75 rating to return a figure of 83.
Being a half sister to Group 1 winner Ofcourseican, the daughter of Nadeem no doubt has improvement to come and whilst she may not quite reach the heights of Ofcourseican she is certainly one to keep a close eye on.
The Hyland Race Colours Benchmark 70 Handicap and last race of the day saw Artistry return from a spell with a very narrow victory over Burning Passion.
Having finished behind Najoom in her last two outings, the resuming Peter and Paul Snowden-trained runner grabbed her second career win and in the process ran to a new peak Timeform rating of 84.
The four-year-old mare certainly looks to have some ability and can build on that effort as she goes up in class.
Second placegetter Burning Passion who was recently transferred from Anthony Cummings to Bart and James Cummings is pretty well found now after seven career starts but with form behind the likes of Kermadec and Sweynesse could find himself in some stakes races during the spring.
The Northern Meteor gelding returned a figure of 91 below that of his peak of 99, achieved in the Listed Blue Sapphire Stakes.
If he can run up to that level throughout this preparation he will certainly be competitive during the spring.
Horses to follow: Devil Hawk, Serene Majesty, Laucala, Lucky Can Be, Artistry