Perfect Ten fashioning strong record

A sustained betting move for six-year-old mare Perfect Ten (NZ) (Tavistock) proved on the money as the daughter of Tavistock comfortably notched the fifth win of her career when successful in the Bottle Stop Handicap (1800m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

The Nikki Burke-trained mare sat behind a solid tempo under Logan Bates and dashed clear inside the final furlong to score by more than two lengths from Black Peppermint (Americain) and Censori (Russian Camelot).

The campaign has netted four wins from six starts, with Perfect Ten finishing runner-up on the other two occasions.

With on-speed runners Station One (Toronado) and Madero (Lope De Vega) overdoing it up front, the tempo aided Perfect Ten, allowing her to settle before closing over the top of her rivals.

“She fronted up nice and perky and it has all been kept simple,” Burke said.

“She’s had a great preparation. She is learning all the time and the 1800m really suited her.

“We have been trying to teach her to settle and get her over a trip, and today was a good stepping stone.”

A full-sister to Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) and multiple Australian black-type winner Asterix (NZ) (Tavistock), Perfect Ten is forging a strong record of her own, with five wins and five placings from 13 starts.

Perfect Ten was bred by Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock Australia Pty Ltd and, like Asterix, is by Tavistock out of British-bred Shirocco mare Mourasana.

Curraghmore offered Perfect Ten during Book 1 of Karaka 2022, which was held between March 7 and 9 that year, immediately after Asterix’s Derby victory at Ellerslie on March 5.

Jason and Melanie Stenning’s Trilogy Racing bought Perfect Ten for $160,000, and Burke is delighted to have a horse of her calibre in her Cranbourne stable.

“I can’t thank Trilogy enough,” she said. “I love this mare. She’s my favourite horse. I do everything with her.

“She’s not easy, she pulls very hard at times and isn’t easy to manage, but she’s a perky little girl and has such a great will to win and a big tank. I think she’s a really, really nice stayer in the making.”