By Michael Floyd
Cranbourne-trained sprinter Bella Nipotina broke through for a well-deserved maiden Group-1 victory when claiming a comprehensive victory in the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
The $2million feature over 1200m was scheduled for Friday night but was moved to the Saturday Cox Plate program after lightning saw the abandonment of the Friday card.
The five-year-old mare showed no ill-effects from the change, relishing the heavy conditions to score by almost five lengths.
“She didn’t quite muster all that well, but when they came off the fence she got a saloon run,” said co-trainer David Eustace.
“She so deserves this – the whole team has put so much into her.
“She’s so tough and it’s just great to reward the owners, they’re huge supporters of the stable and to reward them with a group 1 is very special.
“I can’t stress how much of a team result this is, it’s just really special.”
Bella Nipotina ran second in the same race in 2021 and had run in seven group 1 races since, never beaten more than 3.5 lengths.
It was her sixth career victory and has now earned connections over $3.2m in prize money.
She is the sixth group 1 winner produced out of the Cranbourne Training Centre in the three months of the current season, eclipsing the record five group 1 winners that called Cranbourne home during the 2021/22 season.
It was the highlight of a big weekend of racing for Cranbourne based trainers, with 11 trainers combining to win 14 races across five meetings including four at Moonee Valley as well as the Sale Cup on Sunday.
The spring carnival continues at Flemington on Saturday with Cranbourne trainers again set to be prominent with a number of leading chances in the group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).
