Magic Millions winner Driefontein has booked herself a ticket to the Melbourne Spring Carnival after scoring a first up win in the Group 3 $125,000 Sharp Sheraco Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill today.
With the blinkers back on, Tommy Berry was able to have Driefontein just behind the speedy Ichihara before easing out in the straight with a clear run to the line.
Gai Waterhouse will now turn her attention to Melbourne and has picked out the Group 1 $500,000 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on November 2 for the Fastnet Rock mare.
“She will improve on that too. She is such a lovely mare, she has come back super, she’s made the weight for age improvement,” Waterhouse said.
“I want to take her down for the Myer Classic. I’ve had that in my mind all along. She had to win today to pay her air fare and she is well and truly on her way,”
Ichihara set a sizzling pace and skipped away in the early stages of the straight but couldn’t sustain the pace and faded to miss a place.
Berry wasn’t concerned that he had to take the field up to the leader as he knew Driefontein ($9.50) had done plenty of fitness work leading up to the race.
“She dug deep and was very fit for this first up run today and Gai doesn’t usually whack the blinkers on first up unless she thinks she is pretty close to the money.
Runner-up Peron ($4.40 favourite) also ran a mighty race and after being slowly out of the barriers, settled with only a couple behind her and made up plenty of ground in the straight to nose out Arctic Flight ($21) for third.