Pure Bliss ticked off her maiden at Oakbank on Saturday and trainer Will Clarken is already talking about a black-type assignment for the daughter of Vinery Stud sire Star Turn.
The 3yo filly gave Clarken and co-trainer Niki O’Shea the first of three winners at the iconic Oakbank Easter Carnival in the Adelaide Hills. She went out a $2.60 favourite in the Duttons Maiden Plate (1100m) after placings in her first two starts at Morphettville.
Pure Bliss (3f Star Turn – Heigl by Bel Esprit) raced on the speed and kept the momentum going for a convincing victory over Dodd (Lonhro) and Hot Off (Press Statement). “She struck a couple of firm tracks at Morphettville last month and appreciate some give in the ground today,” Clarken said. “It was a good tempo and she was always holding the second horse.
“There’s scope for improvement and we might have a throw at the stumps in the Redelva Stakes (LR, 1100m) at Morphettville in a fortnight. She has a nice pedigree and the owners would love her to add more black-type to the page.”
Pure Bliss is raced by Trilogy Racing’s Jason & Melanie Stenning and Sean & Cathy Dingwall in partnership with Longwood Farm’s Micheal Christian and his brother Brad. They paid $200,000 to secure her at the 2022 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne.
She is one of five winners from Heigl who is a half-sister to NZ Group 1 winner Rockabubble (Bubble Gum Fellow) and the dam of Caulfield Group 2 winner Unpretentious (Stratum).
Micheal Christian also bred Legend Of The Fall from Star Turn’s first crop at Vinery and he won on debut at Bairnsdale before transferring to Hong Kong trainer Pierre Ng.
Winning jockey Lachie Neindorf was riding Pure Bliss for the first time but did gallop her on the grass at Morphettville on Tuesday morning. “She’s still a bit new but relaxed and rolled along today. When I popped off the fence and gave her a squeeze she catapulted off the corner and was solid through the line.”
Saltaire is another 3yo filly by Star Turn in the mix for more black-type following a fast-finishing third in the VRC Sunlight Classic (LR, 1100m) at Flemington on Saturday. A winner of the $500,000 Inglis Nursery (RL, 1000m) at Randwick last season for a syndicate that includes Max Whitby and Vinery partner Neil Werrett, she holds a Group 2 nomination for the Arrowfield Sprint (1200m) back home at Randwick on April 13.
