True Fantasy Stuns Purdon After Flashing Home to Win Group One

27 April 2021

True Fantasy (NZ) (Bettor's Delight) claims her first Group One victory in the Woodlands Stud Caduceus Club Fillies Classic (2200m). 

Unbelievable was how champion driver Mark Purdon summed the win of NZB Standardbred graduate True Fantasy (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight) in the $90,000 Group One Woodlands Stud Caduceus Club Fillies Classic (2200m) at Alexandra Park on Friday night. 

 

The Hayden Cullen trained two-year-old produced a stunning finish, sweeping down the outer from last at the 500 metre mark in wet and testing conditions.

 

True Fantasy is yet another yearling sale success story for leading owner Jean Feiss, who purchased her at the Christchurch National Yearling Sale for $70,000 from Studholme Bloodstock’s draft.

 

True Fantasy’s brilliant win almost left Purdon, who has driven hundreds of Group One winners across his glittering career in the sulky, speechless. 

 

“It was unbelievable in those testing conditions,” the champion driver said in his post-race interview.

 

“She really had to knuckle down when she was turning in.

 

“The speed was on all the way, it was just hard to know when the right time to go was.

 

“She got a reasonable drag up, but she was uncovered the last quarter (400m) and did the work herself.

 

“It was a good effort,” he said.

 

True Fantasy led home a trifecta of NZB Standardbred graduates when scoring her first Group One win in just her third start.

 

Montana Glory (NZ) (Always B Miki) flashed home to run second, going down by just half a neck, for trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan and driver Maurice McKendry.

 

The two-year-old was purchased by Dean Shannon’s Montana Park for $24,000 from Alabar’s draft at the 2019 NZB Standardbred All Age Sale at Karaka.

 

Alabar have 54 weanlings catalogued to sell at NZB Standardbred’s first-ever dedicated National Weanling Sale at Karaka on Monday 3 May.

 

Eight of those weanlings are by Montana Glory’s sire, exciting freshman stallion Always B Miki (USA).

 

Dance Till Dawn (NZ) (Art Major) produced a big effort to run third for trainer Robert Dunn and driver John Dunn after sitting parked for the first lap of Friday night’s feature in its tough conditions.

 

The filly was a $40,000 purchase from the Broadfield Lodge draft by Robert Dunn’s Diamond Racing at the 2020 NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sale in Christchurch.

 

Broadfield Lodge sold a full brother to Dance Til Dawn for $30,000 to Matthew White at the 2021 National Standardbred Yearling Sale in Christchurch.

 

Friday was a big day for True Fantasy’s dam, Secret Potion (NZ) (Mach Three).

 

True Fantasy’s full brother Keep On Dreaming (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight) flashed home from a hopeless position to run second in a minor event at Winton.

 

The impressive effort sealed the three-year-old a starting spot in next weekend’s Group Two Southern Supremacy Stakes Final (2700m) on Diamonds Day at Ascot Park.

 

Trained by Alister Black, Keep On Dreaming was a $45,000 purchase by Ian and Lindsay Thomson at the 2019 NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sales in Christchurch.

 

Vendor

Studholme Bloodstock

Purchaser

Jean Feiss

Breeding

Bettor’s Delight x Secret Poison

Sale

2020 Christchurch National Yearling Sale, $70,000

Bred by

Studholme Bloodstock, Miss P M Hanley