Inflamed takes out home feature
Local trainers Shane and Brian Anderton are looking north to Christchurch with their mare Inflamed (NZ) (Ghibellines) after she proved too tough for her rivals in the Mosgiel Tavern Beaumont Publican’s Cup (1500m) at Wingatui on Sunday.
The intention was to take a sit with the daughter of Ghibellines, however, she jumped away well and was in the thick end of the action early on. Apprentice jockey Jack Taplin had no option but to press forward for the lead with the mare, and the pair quickly took control of the race.
Taplin rated Inflamed to perfection up front and she proved to have a better kick than her rivals in the concluding stages to hold onto her advantage to win by a head over the fast finishing The Hangover.
While the pre-race tactics didn’t go to plan, the Andertons were rapt to get the victory nonetheless.
“We were hoping to get a bit of cover in behind them,” Shane Anderton said. “As I said to the young fella (Taplin), she can jump and put a length on them pretty quickly.
“He rated her well, he sat as long as he could and she got the job done.”
Having proven herself over 1500m, a further step up to a mile could be on the cards in the Gr.3 Donaldson Brown South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton next Saturday, however, Anderton said it could prove to be too quick of a back-up for his mare.
“We will have to get home now and work out what we do,” he said. "We were half pie thinking about going to Riccarton next week but that might be a bit too soon.”
While the Breeders’ Stakes may come up too soon, Anderton is keen to head to Riccarton with Inflamed in the coming months for other targets.
“There is some nice racing coming up there in the autumn, so there is bound to be something there for her,” he said.
A homebred mare, Inflamed is out of stakes-winning Gallant Guru mare Ortem Fire, a half-sister to Group Three winner Inferno, the dam of Group One winner Smokin’ Romans.
Inflamed has proven to be a solid performer on the track, having now won seven of her 34 starts, including the Listed Stewards Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton last November, and she has earned just shy of $270,000 in prizemoney.
