11 May 2018
Tavistock’s stakes winner tally extended to 17 this afternoon when his Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained daughter Tomelilla prevailed in the Gr.3 ISCL Rotorua Stakes (1400m) at Rotorua.
“To win a stakes race with her and the way she’s bred is very valuable,” Forsman said.
“She had handled a heavy track at Ellerslie, but we didn’t really know if she would handle it here.”
Tomelilla sat back in the field and rider Troy Harris was able to track barnmate Deals In Heels into the race 800m from home and proved too good in the run to the line, crossing with one and a-quarter lengths up her sleeve.
The win represented her 6th career success and took her prize money tally to $133,485 for owners Greg Jones and Mary Anne Baker – a figure that is nearly 9 times the amount that Greg outlaid for her at the 2014 Festival Sale.
Bred by Bob Emery, Tomelilla is out of the unraced Dubai Destination mare Purnima, who has produced four winners from as many to race and hails from the Gr.1 family of Planet Ruler.
This season Tavistock has had the six stakes winners across four countries. These stakes winners comprise: Infantry, Werther, Hiflyer, Gobstopper, Won Won Two and Tomelilla.
Encouragingly, Tomelilla doesn’t appear to be the only promising Tavistock heroine in the successful Baker/Forsman yard.
“We have plenty of nice young Tavistock fillies coming through the system,” Forsman said.
Tavistock also struck earlier on the Rotorua racecard when his Bill Pomare-trained daughter Donna Anne Billy defied all in the Rydges Hotel 1400 Rating 75 over 1400m.