Source : the age
By Neil Evans
A promising Scone filly could well be aimed at the home stand-alone carnival in less than a fortnight if she takes the next step up at Monday’s Gunnedah meeting.
Lady Olenna, an impressive three-year-old daughter of boom sprint sire Shalaa, lines up for only her third start in a Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1000m.
Lady Olenna co-trainer Leah Gavranich.Credit: Getty Images
Based in the Paul Messara-Leah Gavranich stable, Lady Olenna looks beautifully placed from the draw in a race that could weaken off with two of the early market rivals being preferred at Sunday’s Dubbo meeting.
A filly which was given plenty of time after first trialling back in July last year, Lady Olenna quickly lived up to her promise for connections.
She was run down on debut at Scone by the smart and unbeaten Tamworth three-year-old Nation Changing, but hit straight back in dominant fashion three weeks ago, tracking the speed before careering away late by nearly three lengths as a hot favourite and comfortably breaking 34 seconds for her last 600m in soft ground.
It signalled a very progressive sprinter which could tackle a much better class over the two-day Scone carnival on May 16-17.
The stable has been very deliberate in bringing her along slowly, and with leading jockey Aaron Bullock again aboard from a handy draw, she looks one of the best bets at the meeting.
On a surface likely to improve from soft 5 to good 4, the stable will also be hunting a win in the opening race with debutant filly Stolen Summer.
A three-year-old daughter of Group 1-winning superstar The Autumn Sun, Stolen Summer starts her career in a Maiden Plate at set weights over 1250m behind two very quiet trials.
She draws the fence with Bullock again in the saddle for a race likely to be dominated by Scone visitors.
The Messara-Gavranich partnership is enjoying one of its best stints, with nine individual winners coming from their last 22 runners.
