25 Jan 2023Safura took a major step in the right direction when she broke her maiden at Matamata.
The lightly raced daughter of Almanzor holds entries for feature age group middle distance events and the style of her victory over 2000 metres augurs well for her future.
Trained by Mark Walker, Safura was given plenty of time to find her feet by rider Craig Zackey and they were a clear last with 800 metres to run.
The three-year-old improved near the turn and, when the field fanned out on straightening, she powered through to win going away by 2.5l.
Third in her previous appearance in the G3 Royal Stakes, she was making her seventh appearance and holds Group 1 nominations for both the New Zealand Derby and New Zealand Oaks.
Safura is a daughter of the Volksraad mare Corsage, also the dam of the G2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes winner Aotea Lad.