After tracking a five-horse speed battle, Raquel Clark came with a well-timed finish on the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained filly Bless It Be to win a 1050m maiden at Balaklava on Wednesday to credit her sire Zebedee (GB) with his fourth winner from his first Australian crop.
Bless It Be defeated Dawn Salute by one and a half lengths with the winner's stablemate Smiling Assassin back in third.
After finishing second over the same track and distance on June 19, Bless It Be was coming off a disappointing ninth at Morphettville at her most recent start and Macdonald wanted her ridden more conservatively.
"We were a little bit worried the other day at Morphettville when she didn't finish the race right off." Macdonald told racing.com.
"I said to Raquel to try and make it a bit easier and see if she will finish off. She's always had good pace but today she went back and finished off nicely."
Passed in when failing to make her $20,000 reserve at the 2017 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale, Bless It Be is raced by her breeder Cornerstone Stud and partners.
Bless It Be is the first foal of the Good Journey (USA) mare Bless Me Katie who is a half-sister to the Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic winner Kryptelon (Falvelon) out of the stakes-placed import Krypto Katie (USA) (Cryptoclearance).
A prolific sire of winners in Europe, Zebedee (GB) (Invincible Spirit) return to Cornerstone Stud this year at a fee of $9,900.
