Prima Bella shares spoils in Flemington dead heat
Just seven days after placing in a Randwick sprint, Prima Bella (NZ) (Per Incanto) ventured to Melbourne and produced another big effort to dead-heat for first in the A$130,000 VRC Member Andrew Bostock Trophy (1000m) at Flemington on Saturday.
The New Zealand-bred Per Incanto mare was a gallant third in Sydney the previous weekend, beaten by only half a length under 58kg on a testing heavy track. Backing up a week later with the same impost, Prima Bella upped her game even more to share the spoils in her Flemington debut.
Prima Bella was ridden by Harry Coffey and disputed the speed with Street Artist (NZ) (Super Seth) through the early stages of the race. Coffey drove Prima Bella into a clear lead at the 200m mark, but then Along The River (Written Tycoon) drew up alongside.
The pair fought tooth and nail through the last 150m and the hit the finish line locked together. After a tense couple of minutes, the judge was unable to split them and a dead heat was confirmed.
Prima Bella has now had 13 starts for six wins, three placings and A$257,225 in prize-money.
Prima Bella is one of 52 winners from only 94 runners in a landmark Australian season for Little Avondale Stud stallion Per Incanto, whose A$15 million in total progeny earnings on that side of the Tasman put him in a career-best sixth place on the Australian sires’ premiership.
Per Incanto had a metropolitan winning double in Australia on Saturday, both in the maroon, white and yellow colours of Frank and Christine Cook’s Mystery Downs. Earlier in the afternoon, Rolling Magic (NZ) (Per Incanto) won the A$120,000 Midway Handicap (1300m) at Rosehill. He also sired a winner in New Zealand with Sibella (NZ) (Per Incanto) successful at Ruakaka.
“Prima Bella dead-heated in the last at Flemington to give Per Incanto a Saturday treble,” Little Avondale said on Facebook. “Fellow Little Avondale-born and reared Rolling Magic made a successful return to the races at Rosehill and is now on a path to The Big Dance, and Sibella led all the way over 2100m at Ruakaka. Congrats to trainers, Matthew Smith, Richard and Will Freedman and Moira and Kieran Murdoch, and breeders John and Elizabeth Anderson and Joan Egan.”
Little Avondale are the breeders of Prima Bella, who is out of the seven-race winner Brah Spring (NZ). That daughter of Darci Brahma is a three-quarter-sister to Listed winner Sir Lovesalot (NZ) and half-sister to Listed winner Pure Incanto.
Further down the pedigree page, the family also features a couple of Australian Group One performers by Per Incanto – Evaporate (NZ) and Belluci Babe (NZ).
Prima Bella was offered by Sledmere Stud during the 2022 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, where Matthew Smith Racing bought her for A$320,000.
