The $160,000 Listed Black Pearl Stakes (1200m) at Geelong on Wednesday was won in cavalier style by the flashy Toronado (IRE) mare Rainbiel, who was given a brilliant ride by Linda Meech.
Trained by Anthony Chibnall, Rainbiel was second in a Group III race at Moonee Valley earlier this year and was cherry ripe at her third run back from a spell for this bold attempt at Black Type.
She surged forward from an outside gate to take up the lead and settled comfortably before dashing well clear after turning for home.
Rainbiel ran out the trip strongly to beat stakes-winning Vancouver mare Night Raid by a length and a quarter.
“All credit goes to the horse, she did everything I asked of her,” said a delighted Linda Meech.
“She settled when I asked her and then went when I said go.”
Rainbiel was a bargain $10,000 purchase for part-owner Leon McDonald from the Jazcom Thoroughbreds draft at the Inglis Melbourne Gold Yearling Sale and has the overall record of four wins and seven placings from 13 starts with prizemoney in excess of $280,000.
Bred by Makybe, Rainbiel was initially sold in their draft at the Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale for just $6,000 and is a full sister to Group III placed Isles of Avalon from Isles of Wonder, a placed Manhattan Rain daughter of stakes-winner Gina Lollawitcha.
It’s a prolific Black Type family featuring Group winners Lucky Diva, Spirit of Westbury and Ms Catherine, so Rainbiel has become a valuable mare for the future.
Her dam Isle of Wonders is no longer with Makybe and produced a colt by Redente in September after not being covered in the two previous seasons.
Rainbiel is the 19th stakes-winner for Swettenham Stud’s outstanding sire Toronado, whose top class son Masked Crusader was a close second in the $15million Everest last Saturday.
Toronado is covering a full book of mares this spring at a fee of $49,500.
