3 minute read
No one could begrudge the Russell Stewart training camp after Earthstorm's breakthrough win at Ascot on Saturday, setting up the real chance of taking her interstate for a winter campaign.
Stewart and Earthstorm's ownership group will have some thinking to do in the next few weeks, but for the moment, they are content to bask in the glow of her first career win at the races.
She's teased and tantalised with placings in five of her first eight attempts but for many reasons she couldn't quite deliver the killer blow when it counted the most.
She got close in the Supremacy Stakes (1000m) and Gimcrack Stakes (1100m) and ran second to explosive sprinter Bustling in April's Karrakatta Plate (1200m).
Earthstorm had to work hard and was afforded no favours, but she can finally shed the unwanted maiden tag after defeating What's The Point by a short neck in the TABtouch-Have You Got The Touch Plate (1400m).
"Finally, it's been a frustrating time with her," Stewart said on Tabradio.
"It was good to get that monkey off her back, she's not the best maiden in WA anymore.
"It was much more relief, than anything for me."
Despite the frustration of racing well without winning, Stewart never lost faith in Earthstorm and deemed it only a matter of time before she turned it around.
"No, never, Stewart said when prompted if he had lost faith in Earthstorm.
"Steven (Parnham) kept coming back from trackwork saying she's ticking everything right.
"Now that she's got it done her shoes are off and she's going out tomorrow (Tuesday).
"She's one of a kind, her, she's very much in the mould of those good fillies that know that they are good.
"We're racehorse trainers, we put up with her, she's a little bit of a tricky one."
A $60,000 Magic Millions buy, Earthstorm is a three-year-old daughter of Calyx.
Stewart is letting the dust settle before he maps out her next programme, but hinted he would like to see her race in the east after she enjoys a couple of weeks in the paddock.
"She's pretty impeccably bred," Stewart said.
"If it doesn't work, she can have a good break and come back for a Belmont Guineas (1600m) cameo or something like that.
"If I couldn't get her over east before she turned four, I'll probably stay here and see where we're at after that.
"I'd like to send her to Grahame Begg; I like how they talk about their set up and there is a lot of one on one.
"If that came to fruition, I would really like that because Grahame Begg is one of the best in the land with a filly.
"Over the years he has delivered with his fillies and seems to get the best out of them.
"If he was taking a team up to Queensland for the end of autumn, slash winter carnival, she could go up there.
"I would like to have her back for the Railway as a nice four-year-old mare, but if she was to really stamp herself over there, the offers would be good coming in.
"We would have to sit down as an owners' group, but if you send her to someone like Grahame Begg and he gets more out of her.
"I would like to have her back for the Pinnacles carnival, but it all depends on what happens over there."
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