The lightly raced Merchant Navy mare Cottee had been building up for a peak performance and was an emphatic winner of the Listed Tattersall's Mile (1600m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Ridden by Angela Jones for Mark Currie, Cottee charged home to defeat the Star Witness gelding Iknowastar by three-quarters of a length, with the Shamexpress mare Maracana a length back in third.
Angela Jones has a remarkable record on the mare riding her in all but one of six wins.
“I love this little girl, I know her from back to front. She’s so easy to ride once you do know her, but you need that understanding to get the best out of her,” Jones said.
“She can jump well and put herself into a spot which is such an asset. The only thing, she doesn’t travel that well in around horses, so as soon as we had that one three deep outside the leader, she just dropped the bridle.
“I wasn’t worried because I knew as soon as she got a bit of clear air, she was just going to explode, and she did. With the light weight on her back today, I knew she had this field covered.”
In opening her stakes account, Cottee advances her record to six wins and three seconds from 14 starts with earnings of $262,660.
Raced by the Nolan family of Raheen Stud, Cottee was a bargain $20,000 purchase for Ciaron Maher Racing from the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
Bred by Go Bloodstock, Cottee is the first foal of the Group II Rich Hill Mile winner Ruud Not Too (Bernardini), a $500,000 purchase by Go Bloodstock Australia/Paul Moroney Bloodstock from the Attungta Stud draft at the 2018 National Broodmare Sale.
KPW Bloodstock shelled out $480,000 for a Fastnet Rock filly from Ruud Not Too consigned by Coolmore Stud to the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Ruud Not Too has a weanling colt by So You Think and was covered by the 10-time Group 1 winner again last spring.
