Talented Written Tycoon mare Tennessee Bound was looking to keep her record perfect at seven for seven at Sandown on Saturday, but she came up short against another lightly raced mare on the up in Gold Coast Belle.
Astute trainer Danny O’Brien produced three stakes-winning three year-old fillies last season by So You Think in Getta Good Feeling, Sass Appeal and Gold Coast Belle, who was resuming from a spell in the Benchmark 88 event at Sandown over 1300m.
Last seen winning the Listed Bendigo Guineas in May on a good track, Gold Coast Belle was stepping out on a heavy track for the first time in her life and like so many others by her dual Cox Plate winning sire, she found it to her liking.
Gold Coast Belle surged to the front for Logan Bates with 300m to run and was strong to the line beating Tennessee Bound by more than two lengths.
A $375,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Coolmore draft for John Wheeler, Gold Coast Belle has the overall record of five wins and two seconds from seven starts with prizemoney topping $345,000.
Danny O’Brien will now plot a path for Gold Coast Belle through some quality Group races during the spring.
“She’s probably in set-weights stakes races for the rest of the spring, but this looked a good starting point for her and, fortunately, that’s the way it panned out,” O’Brien said.
“She was always travelling very comfortably and let down really well.
“She got across the softish ground with no problem, so there were a few things we hadn’t seen before that she did today.
“She gets to the Let’s Elope (G2) and then the other mares’ race on Turnbull Day (G2) – they’re both 1400 at Flemington – which looks the right set-up for her.”
Foaled and raised at Coolmore and is the best of three winners from three to race from Perpetuum, an unraced half-sister by More Than Ready (USA) to Group III winner Maschino and stakes-winner Kentucky Breeze from Group III winner Tahni Girl.
Gold Coast Belle looks to be a bright spring prospect for much missed So You Think, whose final crop of foals are being born this spring.
