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By Ray Hickson

As Kimberley Secrets won her way to the Newhaven Park Country Championships Final with an all the way victory at Moruya on Sunday her trainer Nick Olive was left to wonder what he has with the untapped filly.

Trainer Nick Olive (Pic: Bradley Photos)

At just her sixth race start the three-year-old, ridden by Jess Taylor, held last year’s South East Country Championships winner Testator Silens, who qualifies for his second Final, at the end of 1400m with a big gap to Toretto who ran into third.

Olive moved from Canberra to Queanbeyan in the early spring and he said the win was quite special, not only because it caps the relocation but because he may have unearthed a smart young horse.

“I’m so thrilled. We brought her down on Friday, I can’t win a race down here and I thought we needed to do something different,’’ Olive said.

“I knew she was ready to go but I thought ‘is she too wired’. She’d never run over 1400m, I thought she was looking for it but when she got to the front I didn’t know if she’d keep going.

“She’s obviously a pretty classy filly on the way up.”

The trainer is of course no stranger to training a talented filly, almost seven years ago he prepared Single Gaze to win the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill.

This filly has a way to go to reach those heights but Olive is adamant the best is yet to come.

“She’s nowhere near what she’s going to be, she’s still quite immature mentally but she will keep improving. She’s obviously got a lot of ability,’’ he said.

The win propelled Kimberley Secrets onto the third line of betting at $11 with TAB in the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final (1400m) at Randwick on April 1 behind Testator Silens who assumed favouritism at $6 as he qualified for the race.

Jockey Jess Taylor took full advantage of Kimberley Secrets’ early speed to assume control and there were few concerns as the post loomed that the win could be stolen from her.

“It worked in her favour having a light weight and the track’s probably playing a little bit leaderish,’’ Taylor said.

“She bounced really well, I had to do a little bit of work to get across but she did it quite easy.

“I was quite confident straightening up, gave a good kick at the top of the straight.

“Late I thought she may have run her race 100m out but when she felt the other horse come to her she held it and was tough to the line.”

Testator Silens’ trainer Luke Clarke was a touch disappointed his charge fell half a length short but conceded jockey Nick Heywood had to ride him out of his comfort zone a bit to put him close to the speed.

Kimberley Secrets wins SERA Country Championships

He said the five-year-old would have some improvement heading to Randwick and can look forward to the rematch in just under a month.

“I thought he had her picked up at the 200m but it will toughen him up a bit more and I’m stoked to be involved again,’’ he said.

“He’s run second so we are in there and we will give it a good shake.”

The final qualifying race in the 2023 series takes place at Coonamble on March 12 for the Western Districts before the two Wild Cards at Goulburn (Southern horses) on March 17 and Scone (Northern horses) two days later.

All the results and replays from Sunday's Moruya meeting