Photo: Race Images
Agey Babe broke maiden ranks at Pukekohe on Thursday when winning the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race (1200m).
She settled back early for jockey Masa Hashizume, who waited patiently on the mare before steering her five-wide turning for home where she was able to reel in the leaders and run away to a three-quarter of a length victory over Caminata.
The daughter of Sacred Falls had finished runner-up in her previous two starts and trainer Danny Walker duly took plenty of confidence into the race.
“We were quite confident with her. She had been working really well and had gone some superb races,” he said.
It was the five-year-old mare’s ninth raceday start and Walker expects her to continue to improve.
“I think she is a slow maturing mare and she is starting to come to it now,” he said.
Walker will press on with the mare into winter and possibly search for another Pearl Series race.
“It was an $11,000 Pearl Series Bonus race today, so that is good for the owners to get that extra money, it makes it a $21,000 maiden race,” he said.
“If we can find another one of them that would be good.”
Bred by Waikato Stud. Agey Babe was purchased out of the Matamata-based farm's 2018 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft by bloodstock agent Robt Dawe for $150,000. -NZ Racing Desk
