Trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace need not have worried about Marabi handling the soft conditions at The Valley as the unbeaten mare added to her record in the Australia Stakes.
Marabi had not raced on rain-affected ground in her five previous starts, but it mattered little as the mare raced to a comfortable all-the-way win in Saturday’s 1200m Group 2 contest.
Well-rated by jockey Ben Allen, Marabi, the $1.80 favourite, registered a 2-¾ length win from Sinawann ($8) with Turaath ($9.50) a neck away third.
The Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield on February 26 now beckons for Marabi for which she is the $2.50 favourite with TAB in pre-nomination markets.
“We were very worried about the track, but we needn’t have been,” Eustace said.
“We had a good walk of it, and we felt that hard on the fence was the place to be, it was either that or out wide five or six (deep).
“We thought we should be up on the front end and felt that we couldn’t sacrifice that ground coming off the fence so much.
“She’s beaten a decent field albeit a lot of horses kicking off their campaigns, but she couldn’t have been any more impressive.”
Eustace praised the team in charge of the Caulfield stable for their work in keeping Marabi going.
He said the daughter of I Am Invincible had been in work for some time, and while her races had been spaced, it was a credit to the team to see her victorious at weight-for-age.
Allen said that while there had been some pre-race concerns, those worries were extinguished by the time the 800m-mark was reached.
“She went at a nice gallop and that is her best asset,” Allen said.
“She just keeps stepping up to the plate, and hopefully the Oakleigh Plate is next for her and hopefully she creeps up in the points and I can ride her.”
Craig Williams was excited by Sinawann’s performance who blew his chance with a poor start.
“When he jumped, he threw his head back, so we ended up going to plan 85,” Williams said.
“To run so well after being last, circling them on a tight turning track, a track I don’t think he’s all that comfortable on, it puts more merit on his performance.”
