Sydney trainer Gary Portelli will send Once Again north for the winter carnival after he showed potent staying potential at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Once Again is a lightly-raced son of Vinery sire Onemorenomore and he was a fitting winner of the More Than Ready @ Vinery Maiden (1900m). It was his first outing past a mile and, despite laying out in a rough-house race, he scored by a half-length for in-form jockey Tye Angland.
A homebred for Gerry Harvey, he will be set for the G1 Queensland Derby (2200m) at Doomben on June 6.
Once Again (3g Onemorenomore – Erin by Brief Truce) is from a family that has built up an affinity with the winter carnival going all the way back to 1982 when his third-dam Sovereign Chick (Sovereign Edition) won the G3 Great Western at Doomben.
More recent relations to have won Brisbane stakes races include Bianca Jewel (Lion Heart), Kiss Me Katy (Mull Of Kintyre) and Love And Money (Secret Savings)
Once Again’s Canterbury victory could be the catalyst for more first-crop Onemorenomores heading to Queensland.
His filly Baylie Louise will be gunning for her fourth win in a row in the Murrumbidgee Guineas (1600m) at Wagga on Friday. She has been entered for the G1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Doomben on May 30.
And on Saturday, Onemorenomore gelding Final Decision lines up in the G3 Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m). He holds a Queensland Derby nomination alongside Once Again.
Final Decision will also be ridden by Angland for part-owner and trainer Jason Coyle at the stand-alone Hawkesbury meeting. Coyle knows the breed having prepared Onemorenomore to a Group 1 victory in the 2009 Champagne Stakes at Randwick.
