Maiden no more! Berlinetta gets off the mark at Windsor
Monday evening finished in perfect fashion, with Berlinetta getting up close home at Windsor to land the Fillies' Handicap. Capping off a memorable day for Opulence Thoroughbreds, coming just hours after Bymiddaytomorrow had opened her account earlier at Ayr, an across-the-card double to remember.
It's been a bit of a journey to get here. Berlinetta had shown little over sprint trips with her previous yard, but things had really started to click when she moved across to Jack Channon earlier this year and was stepped up in trip. Her first run for the new yard, after a break of six months, saw her keen early but she stuck to her task well to finish a close 5th, and the signs were evident that the mile trip would pose no concerns. Sure enough, this week she proved it. Dropping into fillies-only company and racing off the same mark, she travelled strongly for George Bass and fought back gamely in the closing stages, getting up to win by a short head in a blanket finish.
It's a really encouraging start for her at the new yard, and a fantastic result for the whole team at Jack Channon Racing, a testament to the hard work put in since she made the move over from William Haggas' yard earlier this year. A big thank you to Jack and his team for finding the key to her, and to George for a really well judged ride when it mattered. From her initial purchase as a yearling, we always believed there was always talent there, so it is brilliant to see it come good so soon into this new partnership.
Timeform Review:
Time: 101.64s Closing Sectional: (3.00f): 34.79s
BERLINETTA didn't need to improve on her comeback effort 10 days earlier to squeeze home in this lesser contest but has clearly made an encouraging start for her new yard; settled in touch, shaken up over 2f out, led entering final 1f, had nothing to spare.
A few of these fillies compromised their chance by not settling fully but the pace was an honest enough and the fair form is supported by a solid timefigure.