Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Fastnet Rock mare Nudge stepped into centre stage at Doomben on Saturday to win her first Black Type racing taking out the Group III BRC Pam O’Neill Stakes (1600m) with a dominant display.
Group I placed as a three year-old, the Chris Waller trained Nudge has never lacked for ability, but luck rarely comes her way with the result being a race record long on placings and short on victories.
After placing in her past three starts, Kerrin McEvoy got the best from Nudge producing her late with a powerful finish to post a length and a half win taking her overall record to three wins and seven placings from 19 starts with earnings in excess of $440,000
"Each and every one of her starts this prep, you could make a case for her," Waller said.
"But she is a good, genuine mare and she will win another race in Queensland pretty quick on the strength of that."
A $380,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Lime Country Thoroughbreds draft for Waller Racing/Mulcaster Bloodstock, Nudge runs for a large group of stable clients that now have a very valuable broodmare prospect on their hands.
Nudge is a half-sister to Group I winner Julinsky Prince and Group III placed Foreign Prince being from stakes-winning Stravinsky (USA) mare Julinsky Princess.
She becomes the 174th stakes-winner worldwide for Coolmore’s champion sire Fastnet Rock, who stands this spring at a fee of $165,000.
Nudge is the seventh stakes-winner for Fastnet Rock bred from a daughter of Stravinsky, the nick running at 16% stakes-winners to runners with those stakes-winners highlighted by his four time Group I winner Mosheen.
