Stepping up to black type racing for the first time since her 3yo season, Ciaron Maher’s Custom had race fitness on her side as the 4yo daughter of Street Boss (USA) charged clear in the run to the line to win the $200,000 G3 MRC Courtza Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield, her first black type victory.
With Tom Dabernig’s last start winner Listed MRC Regal Roller Stakes winner Shadahvar eventually finding the lead over multiple stakes winner Wrote To Arataki (NZ), the Ethan Brown ridden Custom was getting a good run, sitting in sixth position on the rail.
Leading clearly into the home straight, Shadahvar looked as if she would be hard to run down before Brown came off the leader’s heels at the 200m mark where Custom sprinted strongly to take up the lead.
Drawing away under hands and heels riding, Custom took the prize by a length and three quarters from the Ben, Will and JD Hayes trained Photograph whop charged into second to give breeder/owners Godolphin the one-two finish.
G1 performed grey Salty Pearl came from back in the field along the rail to finish third, giving the Maher yard two of the first three home.
With recent winners of the race including Magic Time, Quintessa (NZ), Benedetta, Chain Of Lightning and Probabeel (NZ) – all G1 winners, Maher looks to have a more than capable mare on his hands.
“She ran a peak the start before in that really good win here, and then we just ran it back two weeks, and I think it just took the shine off her a little bit,” said Maher.
“But we were confident, the favourite here (Shadhavar) sort of ran a 95 last start and we ran a 95 rating two starts ago. So, we were confident we're in the mix, and just with that three-week break, she's gone back to her best. So very good ride by Ethan and great job by the team to get her back peaking again.
“It's good when you've got a good team and Goodolphin Australia, they've been a massive asset and a pleasure and to get some black type for a filly like this, I'm sure it's very big for them.
“She’s progressive. She's been a bit quirky. She's had little issues and stuff in the past, and she's still coming in the coat as well, she looks a little bit wintery in the yard… we'll just keep raising the bar.
“As I said she's still got improvement, looks-wise and just in every way so that's a good start for her to nail a stakes win, so we won't over race her, she seems to like that gap, but we'll see what happens."
Having not ridden Custom since August last year, Brown was pleased with the effort.
“She’s progressed a lot this filly from prep to prep, she had a lovely run in transit, I was grinning mid-race, I could see the favourite working throughout,” said Brown. “She had a lovely suck up run behind, spent no petrol and showed a great turn of foot the last 300 (metres).
“She travelled fine, there was a nice enough tempo, just had to keep at her, she probably had a little think about it, but I think she’s probably run a much better figure today. Bigger gap between runs, she was a bit fresher within herself and her turn of foot showed that late.”
Taking her overall record to three wins and five placed efforts from 13 starts with earnings of $314,400, Custom is one of four winners, and first stakes winner out of the unraced, imported Dubawi mare Wedding Veil (IRE), a half-sister to G1 winner Ibn Khaldun and a three-quarter sister-in blood to Dubawi’s G2 winner Saba Desert from the family of G1 winners Gossamer, Zardozi and Program Trading.
Wedding Veil’s current 2yo is the unraced filly Armadale from the first crop of Anamoe while her next foal, a filly by Cylinder, died after foaling.
The mare is currently in foal to Street Boss, the sire of 91 stakes winners including last season’s G1 winners Tentyris and Temped, who is standing this season for a fee of $66,000 (inc. GST) at Darley’s Victorian property.
