Darley young gun Bivouac is building momentum as the season draws to a close and added a new stakes-winner to his tally in New Zealand on Friday when the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Otaki went the way of promising 2YO filly Actionbelle, bred and sold as a weanling by Twin Hills Stud.
It is often a case of which juvenile can handle the heavy conditions best at this time of year, but there was certainly a touch of class about this year’s impressive victor Actionbelle.
The daughter of Bivouac had produced a tidy debut effort for third at Matamata behind Dubawi Diva, giving the father-son training partnership of Ben and Ryan Foote confidence to head south to Otaki for Friday’s $80,000 feature.
While noted among the chances, it was Te Akau’s last-start winner Honour Roll and Robbie Patterson’s proven heavy-tracker Shamelia Kirk who fought out favouritism, with the former eventually closing on top at $2.60.
When the gates opened, it was Honour Roll who won the early speed battle, striding to the lead while Actionbelle settled on the fence just behind midfield. Shamelia Kirk levelled up to Honour Roll turning for home, but when he kicked clear, it was Actionbelle mounting the challenge to his inside.
She charged clear to win by three and a half lengths.
The Castletown was another accolade to add to a breakout season for McNab, who has ridden 51 winners and three at stakes level this term after riding his first winner just over a year ago.
“Her debut run couldn’t have been much better I thought, and stepping up to 1200m today, she was always going to be a very good chance,” he said.
“The track conditions were obviously a query, and the two favourites had shown a bit, but she was very tough.
“I couldn’t get off the fence, but where I was hadn’t been touched much and I just tried to encourage her to slide forward without doing too much. I tried to nurse her to the corner and when Michael took off, I thought it must be time to go.
“The leader put a couple of lengths on us, but she never gave up and got there in the end.”
Ryan Foote extended his gratitude to co-owner Jim Bruford, who purchased Actionbelle out of Henley Park’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready To Run Sale for $90,000.
“It was great to get a stakes win for the team, they are big supporters of ours,” he said. “She’s a nice horse with a bright future.
“This is one that Jim selected, he is a very good judge. We’re just happy to have backing from him.
“It (the race) didn’t really go as planned, I wanted to get off the fence, but they all came out wide and she just seemed like she handled the track conditions best.
“We’ll see how she gets home and pulls up as to whether we come back in two weeks.”
Foote is referring to the Listed Phils Electrical and Gipsy Caravans Ryder Stakes (1200m), also to be run at Otaki in a fortnight.
Actionbelle was initially purchased by Henley Park as a weanling at the Inglis Great Southern Sale from the Twin Hills draft for $40,000 and then and passed in at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne, before she was reoffered and sold as a two-year-old at Karaka last November.
Bred by Olly Tait at Twin Hills, Actionbelle is a half-sister to stakes-placed Left Field and is the first stakes-winner among three winners from four foals to race from stakes-placed Not a Single doubt mare Balancing Act.
Balancing Act sadly died earlier this year and her final foal is a weanling colt by Spirit of Boom.
Actionbelle is the seventh stakes-winner for Bivouac, who is locked in an intriguing battle with Wootton Bassett for Champion Australian Second Season sire honours.
Bivouac had his service fee reduced from $55,000 to $33,000 for this spring having covered just 283 mares in his previous three seasons, so will undoubtedly be popular this year given his rise in fortunes as the season has unfolded.
