More Than Ready filly Zunbaqa will have a fitness edge on her spring carnival rivals after winning for the fourth time in a row at Flemington.
Zunbaqa went straight to the front in the VRC Member John Gubbins Hcp (1400m) on Saturday and refused to surrender in the straight. She was a length in front and still going strongly through the line to defeat well-bred colts Benny Goes Berzerk (Street Boss) and Decorated Soldier (Snitzel).
Trained at Lindsay Park for Sheikh Hamdan, she won second-up at Geelong in June and extended the winning sequence with two trips to Adelaide in July. “Everything went wrong at her first start but she’s just continued progressing,” trainer David Hayes said at Flemington. “She was pretty dominant today.
“I feel she will be a really good (G2) Edward Manifold Stakes filly over a mile back here in October. She has the advantage of winter fitness and I do think she can go into the spring.”
Zunbaqa was a $300,000 buy for Sheikh Hamdan at the 2015 Inglis Easter yearling sale. Her dam Boogaloo (Encosta de Lago) was stakes placed behind Typhoon Tracy at Caulfield.
Vinery welcomed More Than Ready back home on Wednesday morning after he cleared quarantine. He stands for a $66,000 (inc gst) service fee.
The champion shuttler has been in scintillating form in both hemispheres and there’s Group 1 assignments ahead for his star colts Tom’s Ready (USA), Prized Icon (Australia) and Boynton (Europe).
