This time last year, Turaath (GB) was the talk of the town when reeling off four consecutive wins culminating in the Group II Let’s Elope Stakes at Flemington.
The Maddie Raymond-trained daughter of Oasis Dream, has not won in five starts since but was back on her pedestal in the $175,000 Listed Ultima Hotel Black Pearl Stakes (1200m) at Geelong on Wednesday.
After missing the start, Turaath (GB) was given a ground-saving ride by Damian Lane. In a driving finish, Turaath (GB) lumped her top weight to a head win from the Sebring mare Jump The Broom, with Godolphin’s Shamardal mare Larkspur Run the same distance back in third.
With her second stakes success, Turaath (GB) advances her record to six wins, one second, and three thirds from 19 starts with earnings of $556,010.
“She’s so tough, so honest. They had her on the line, but you can see her dig deep and fight,” Raymond said.
“It’s not great that she’s missing the kick. I’m sure we’ll be able to give her a good squeeze out if we need to.
“She’s relaxing well now, but she might be overdoing it a bit. She’s a little bit more versatile, so if you do find a race where there is a lot of speed, you can sit off and she can finish off like that
“She went into her first run with no jump-outs, no trials, and she ended up having a pretty soft run and I thought she was still fresh enough to be here today over 1200 (metres), but she’ll take good improvement from that and will be better off over further.
“There’s a few options for her. There’s a 1400-metre mares’ race on Cup Day, which I’ve had in the back of my mind for a little while. The 1400 metres at Flemington suits her best, so I’ll be pretty happy with her going into it.”
Raymond trains Taraath (GB) for former Sydney trainer John Nicholls, who had purchased Turaath (GB) for 35,000gns at the 2020 Tattersalls December Mares Sale.
The Shadwell homebred had just one win, on the all-weather at Newcastle, from seven starts,
The mare’s dam Fadhayyil won the Listed City Of York Stakes and placed in the Group II Rockfel Stakes and Group III Jersey Stakes.
Fadhayyil is a half-sister to three stakes winners out of the dual Group III winner Ziria (Danehill Dancer).
