Racing at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday saw the Annabel and Rob Archibald trained For Better (Better Than Ready), a full sister to the stable’s Group 1 winner Port Lockroy, break her maiden at just her third start for the stable.
Having initially started her career in the Victorian stable of Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, the filly had her hoof on the till, recording three placed efforts from as many starts before a change in scenery saw connections rewarded with success.
Jumping away from the inside barrier, jockey Jag Guthmann-Chester allowed the filly to find her feet, settling in fourth position on the rail where she secured a lovely run.
As the leaders began to weaken rounding the home turn, Guthmann-Chester drove his filly between the pair, taking the lead at the 300m mark.
Sticking to the rail, For Better held a winning margin over runner-up Lady Thinkabell (So You Think), who produced a quality effort to come from the tail, weaving through the field to finish second.
Winning with something in hand, For Better took the prize by a half-length margin from Lady Thinkabell, with a further three lengths back to the third placed Microphone filly Wimoweh.
The Yarramalong-bred For Better is the sixth winner from seven to race out of the multiple stakes placed Freeze mare Freezethemillions, whose headline performer is this season’s $1.5m Group 1 WATC Railway Stakes winner Port Lockroy.
Freezethemillions is also the dam of the former Edmonds Racing trained Group 3 Bruce McLachlan Stakes winner Alpine Edge (Better Than Ready), who stood his initial season at Clear Mountain Stud last season with his first crop foals due in the spring after covering 110 mares at a fee of $7,700 (inc. GST).
Currently Queensland’s Leading Sire with over $10.4m in earnings this season, Better Than Ready’s 14 career stakes winners are headed by Group 1 winners Port Lockroy and Apache Chase, while his Magic Millions 2YO Classic-winning filly Skirt The Law sold at the recent Magic Millions National Broodmare sale for $1.35m to Widden Stud.
Set to stand at a fee of $27,500 (inc. GST) in the spring at the Kruger's Lyndhurst Stud, Better Than Ready is sure to cover another large book of mares, having averaged 165 mares each season in his ten years at stud.
