By Jack Marshall
Kim Waugh continued her great run of success with promising three-year-old Mighty Marmalade winning the 1200m www.wyongraceclub.com.au 3YO & Up Maiden in commanding fashion at Wyong yesterday.
The stable has been in great form with nine winners from just the 18 runners since February 18, including last Saturday’s Polytrack Provincial Championships Qualifier with Uptown Lad, giving them a 50% strike rate as well as Shiraz being Group-placed at Newcastle last Friday and Manhattan Mist finishing second in the Wyong Provincial Championships Qualifier to book his berth in the $500,000 final as well.
Mighty Marmalade (Brenton Avdulla) cruises home at Wyong. Image by Steve Hart Photographics
Mighty Marmalade’s impressive win followed a second on debut at Wyong on February 20.
Jockey Brenton Avdulla, who brought up a winning double with the victory, positioned Mighty Marmalade ($2.50) towards the rear of the field and came wide around the turn, to produce a devastating turn of foot pulling away to win by 2.5 lengths.
Waugh was rapt with the win and believes the filly’s future is very exciting: “It was fantastic, she works well at home and her trials have been nice, but at her last start she just did too much wrong,” she said.
“Even today she was still very green, but was able to show her great turn of foot.”
The filly is a half-sister to another of Waugh’s up and coming horses Newsfan, who is also owned by longtime clients of the Waugh stable Mr and Mrs Yee. Newsfan and stablemate Never Out, both last start Wyong winners, have been nominated for Saturday’s $150,000 Gosford Provincial Championships Qualifier.
“I have had plenty of horses for the Yees and they are very nice people who are loyal and deserve all the success they get because they put so much money into the racing game,” Waugh said.
Avdulla was equally as impressed with the filly and her future prospects: “There’s a good turn of foot on her, but she’s still hasn’t got much idea what she’s doing,” he said.
“She stepped away a lot better today than she has in her trial and her last run. Once I got her around the bend and got balanced she let down like a really good horse who looks to have a nice little future.”