Arrowfield graduate makes 99 for Spur
A century of stakeswinners is one of the few achievements missing from Flying Spur’s CV, but now an Arrowfield graduate has upgraded its status to “imminent.”
4YO mare Traveston Girl became the retired champion sire’s 99th stakeswinner in Saturday’s $100,000 BRC Recognition S. 1600m LR at Doomben, where she led all the way to win by 1.5 lengths from Shotover River & Blue Lion.
Traveston Girl has been a star-in-the-wings ever since she split Amicus and Sabatini in last year’s MRC Thousand Guineas G1, but her next five black type appearances produced only a couple of placings during the Queensland Winter Carnival.
She resumed in October with a third at Doomben, and a second trip south for a solid fifth in Group 3 company at Flemington on Cup Day proved to be the turning point.
Her trainer Tony Gollan said, “We’ve never lost faith in her. Since she won that race as a two-year-old she’s stepped up and raced in the best company in Melbourne and Brisbane.”
“She’s come back in superb order and she’s still got improvement to come.”
Traveston Girl has several opportunities to add further stakes success, and major prizemoney to her three-win, quarter-million-dollar career. All going well, she’ll line up in the Brisbane Handicap LR on 5 December, the Bernborough Handicap LR on 19 December and the $1 million Magic Millions Trophy on 9 January.
Traveston Girl is the fourth foal and fourth winner out of Milande (by Dehere), an unraced sister to multiple Group 1 winner Defier from the family of champion 3YO Triscay and Group 1 winners La Baraka & Demerger. The Flying Spur/Dehere cross is already responsible for a top-class Arrowfield graduate, three-time Group 1 winner Forensics.
Bred by the partnership of Arrowfield, John Leaver & Alan Jones, Traveston Girl was purchased for $60,000 from Arrowfield’s 2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale draft for Troy Schmidt’s River Junction Racing. Mr Schmidt now owns Milande as well and has a yearling half-brother to Traveston Girl by All American.
Flying Spur’s other Spring star is dual Melbourne Group winner Mahuta, from his final, 2012 crop of 59 foals. The Darren Weir-trained colt has contributed more than $360,000 to his sire’s $126 million+ lifetime earnings.
Traveston Girl is the fifth stakeswinner sold by Arrowfield from its 2013 Magic Millions draft, after Group 3 winners Oakleigh Girl (by Snitzel) & Bachman (by All American), and Listed winners Hijack Hussy (by Hussonet) & Wild Rain (by Manhattan Rain).
