Race experience and superior fitness proved a big advantage at Moonee Valley on Friday night for progressive Hanseatic filly Befuddle, who used both to her advantage when breaking her maiden at her third start.
Trained by John Sadler and ridden by Jye McNeil, Befuddle finished sixth at her previous run in the Listed VRC Talindert Stakes behind dead heaters Shining Smile and Tentyris, who went very close to winning the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes last weekend.
Dropping greatly in class for this assignment, Befuddle set the pace in front and could not be caught, kicking on to win the 1200m juvenile contest by three-quarters length.
Befu
ddle was passed in as a yearling at Inglis Premier and then bought back for $30,000 at the Inglis Gold Yearling Sale by her breeder Dave Azzopardi of Dream Thoroughbreds and has obviously got a bright future.
“We owned the dam and had a share in Hanseatic, so that was how we came to breed her,” said Dave Azzopardi, who has obviously pulled the right rein in keeping the filly.
“We hoped she could run well as we are looking to go to the $1million Showdown (for Victorian breds) in two weeks time and that has always been a bit of a plan.”
Befuddle is the first winner for Absolute Puzzle, a placed half-sister by Rubick to stakes-winner Poifect from a family of fast juveniles including Group II winner Krupt and stakes-winner Anevay, the dam of this season’s highly rated Wootton Bassett (GB) colt Pallaton.
Absolute Puzzle was covered by Hanseatic again last spring and has a yearling colt by I Am Immortal to be offered at Inglis Premier as Lot 570 by Stonehouse Thoroughbreds.
Befuddle is the second winner for Rosemont Stud’s Hanseatic, who is also the sire of stakes-placed Bermondesy and Rohesia.
