There wasn't much in favour of the Group 1 winning mare Belclare (Per Incanto – Miss Rhythmic by O'Reilly) when she resumed in the Group 1 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on Saturday but that didn't stop the David and Deb Woodhouse bred mare from producing arguably the run of the race, an effort which has seen last season’s Group 1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes winner firm significantly in betting markets for the (1400m) Group 1 Tarzino Trophy and the (1600m) Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Stakes to be held at Hastings in September.
A wide draw, a soft surface upon which she had been unplaced in six previous starts and at a distance she had also never been placed at in six previous attempts, saw the Per Incanto mare start at nearly 30 to 1. Ridden by Sam Spratt the Lisa Latta trained six-year-old settled last in a strong field of weight for age sprinters, before unleashing the fastest last 600m of the race to run a close fourth.
Already the winner of nine races from 28 starts and $425,000 in stake earnings, Belclare has firmed into $12 for both Hawkes Bay features.
Meanwhile in Australia, another high-class Per Incanto galloper made a welcome public return to the track, albeit in a trial, with Lost and Running producing a great dress rehearsal for his upcoming targets, which include the Everest, when a fast finishing third over 850m at Rosehill last Friday behind the multiple international Group 1 winner Alcohol Free. A return to the cauldron of the $20 million Everest would be a fitting reward for the horse and his connections after he was so cruelly ruled out of last year's event on race morning when second favourite.
