3 minute read

Debut winner Miss Celine has produced a last-to-first win at Caulfield. 

Miss Celine has become the latest two-year-old to add its name to the honour roll of Debutant Stakes winners for Lindsay Park with a blistering burst of speed at Caulfield. 

The daughter of Magnus became the seventh two-year-old since 2000 to win for the Hayes family after coming from last to win the Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) on Wednesday. 

Ridden by in-form jockey Blake Shinn, Miss Celine ($15) scored by a length from Bubion ($11) with Winmar ($17) a short-head away third. 

Peter Hayes won the Debutante Stakes in 2000 while on his return from Hong Kong, David Hayes won the race on two occasions before joining with his nephew Tom Dabernig to land the prize in three successive years from 2016. 

The latest Lindsay Park winner came for David Hayes' three sons, Ben, Will and J D Hayes. 

Miss Celine, bred by her owner Robert Crabtree, is a sister to Enbihaar, a winner at Group 2 level and runner-up in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield in 2017, who was prepared at Lindsay Park. 

Ben Hayes said he was surprised to see the filly so far back as Miss Celine, named after Crabtree's grand-daughter, had been so professional in her trials and gallops. 

"She kept doing everything right in all her trials and in her last trial in particular," Hayes said. 

"She's trained out of our Pakenham base, and she' s just done really well. 

"She hit the line great, it was a very impressive win, very good visually to the eye, but I'll have to watch it a couple of times because we had a couple more good runs in behind as well which was really nice to see." 

Shinn, fresh off a treble at Caulfield on Saturday, was surprised to see Miss Celine settle at the back of the field. 

But over the short course of 1000m, Shinn was confident of wearing down the leaders who had run the first part of race quickly for juveniles. 

"I didn't anticipate being last given her jump out form," Shinn said. 

"She jumped okay but the speed of the race was a bit fast for her and she was quite new in the early and middle stages. 

"So, we just had to allow the race to unfold and just try and give her the confidence to finish off and, that was a phenomenal effort to come from where she did." 

Hayes said Miss Celine could be seen in action again during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, but first he and his brothers would determine how the filly recovers from her first day at the races.