Trish Dunell
A sharp rise in grade wasn’t enough to deter progressive mare Myrcella who provided jockey Michael Coleman with the first leg of a familiar winning double at Ellerslie on the weekend.
The Peter and Dawn Williams trained mare, who was still eligible for the rating 65 ranks, bolted home in rating 85 company when she took out the Aircon Services Ltd 1200. Handled confidently by Coleman the mare burst clear of her higher ranked opposition in the closing stages of the contest to provide conclusive proof she deserves a shot at higher honours in the future.
Co-trainer Peter Williams was pleased the mare was back on track after a couple of hiccups that affected her form after she put successive wins on the board back in May.
“In her first three starts, everything went well then things just went wrong for her in her next couple of runs,” he explained after the race.
“Michael was back on her this time and he seems to have a bit of an affinity with her as she seems to travel well for him.”
The Makfi mare took her record to two wins from as many starts at Ellerslie with Williams keen to bring her back to the venue in a fortnight provided he can find a suitable race.
“It’s nice to be racing back at Ellerslie,” he said.
“If there is something available for her then we will be back in a fortnight. We will see how she comes through this one but if there is something that suits then she will be back.”
Coleman, who had been aboard the mare for her first two wins back in May, was impressed with the mare’s effort to handle the sharp rise in grade.
“She was jumping well out of her grade today being 65 rated but she has good ability on this sort of track,” he noted.
“Down in the weights she had to be a big chance and she proved that.
“She’s a progressive type on this sort of ground and keeps getting the job done.”
Coleman could have been excused for feeling a strong sense of déjà vu on the day as both Myrcella and Megablast provided him with a winning double at Ellerslie back in May when he was seeking to achieve the elusive 2000-win mark and he combined with that pair again on Saturday for the same result. – NZ Racing Desk