5YO mare Victorem (Shooting To Win – Gymnast by More Than Ready) built on her black-type resume with a game effort for third in the 1400m Group 3 Grangewilliam Stud Taranaki Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Hawera on Saturday.
Runner-up in the Group 2 Desert Gold Stakes as a 3YO, the Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard trained mare was a $90,000 yearling purchase by Phil Cataldo from the LA’s 2019 Karaka Book 2 draft.
Gymnast, whose first foal is Victorem, has an unnamed 3YO Per Incanto filly in pre training and a yearling Time Test filly who is earmarked for the 2023 Karaka yearling sales.
And while he narrowly missed out on adding to his last start stakes win, Time Test 3YO Leedox produced a great dress rehearsal for next months Group 1 2000 Guineas with a fresh-up fourth in the Group 2 AHD Hawkes Bay Guineas. In form trainer Andrew Forsman had made no secret pre-race that Leedox was going to derive significant fitness benefit from the race.
