The connections of Cristofina have been patiently waiting for a slice of luck given her six career runs to date haven’t provided much of it of late, especially for a filly that has shown promise and probably should have broken her maiden earlier than today.
So when she missed the kick they would have been forgiven for thinking ‘here we go again’, but for a patient ride from Lucinda Boyd. Rather than panic, Boyd drove the three-year-old daughter of Vancouver to be positive in the run, sitting pretty in the box seat after 300 metres, before heading the shortest way home along rail to take out the Cervus Equipment Maiden Plate over 1400 metres.
On a day that was to favour those in the first half of the field most likely due to the Heavy 8 track, it was a picture perfect ride from Boyd and the perfect way for Cristofina to break her duck.
“She was great today,” said Boyd.
“I was able to get into a nice position without expending too much energy and I was able to stick to the fence as many of the other runners were starting to come off and I knew nothing had been hard up against the fence so far today.
“She finished off really well, the blinkers were a good addition today, they kept her nice and sharp and she didn’t hit a flat spot, which allowed me to cruise up around the corner and into the straight and she let down really well,” said Boyd.
The $200,000 purchase from the Inglis Premier Sales, a graduate from Morning Rise Stud, is now destined to progress through the grades and, with even luck, will start repaying the faith shown in her to date.
“Finally… it has certainly been a long time coming and she probably should have won a race before now if it wasn’t for bad luck,” said Henry.
“The blinkers going on today sharpened her up a little bit and she was well ridden by Lucy.
“Even though she missed the start, she probably ended up where she would have been anyway, Lucy railed through and kept her flowing nicely, where she was able to get in the box seat.
“She gave a good kick and kept finding to the line, despite the challengers coming from behind, which was good to see,” said Henry.
Cristofina will now step up to 1600 metres, with a resticted filly’s race on a grass track most likely her next assignment.
She will head to St. Leonards for a few days at the beach, and while she has been in work for awhile, she is sound and rock hard fit and will continue in her campaign until she tells Henry otherwise.
Now the maiden is done, with even luck, her second win won’t be too far away.