Superbly bred filly successful
Superbly bred filly Batrana made an impressive debut at Geelong on Friday, July 14.
Trained by Tony & Calvin McEvoy, the daughter of the stallion Justify came from midfield to score a short half head win in the Attvest Finance Maiden (1200m).
A $20 chance, Batrana showed great courage to defeat Meg’s Magic ($8.50) with Furosshi ($9.50), a head away third in an exciting finish.
Jockey Harry Coffey did a good job from gate 10 in the field of 14 to have the filly midfield on the fence turning for home.
Batrana extended over the final 200 metres and came between runners to grab a narrow win.
The winner is a daughter of the top racemare Badawiya which won two Group 2 races and was placed in a Group 1 Thousand Guineas.
Trainer Calvin McEvoy was delighted with her debut.
“It was a really great result,” McEvoy said.
“She is a filly that is not easy, and Tim, Finn and the team of guys at Ballarat do an unbelievable job.
“She tests us every day, but she handled herself beautifully today.
“There is not a lot of her at the moment, but she is going to mature and be better next time in.
“We might take the pressure off Batrana now, she has done a great job to come to the races and win.
“She is a raw filly with plenty of upside.
“She is not easy to ride in trackwork and the riders do a great job, even the ground staff.
“Batrana will mature and I’m sure she will turn into a really nice filly.”
Jockey Harry Coffey was full of praise for Batrana.
“She showed some real grit late,” Coffey said.
“She fought off the other horse – often when they have momentum down the outside, they get the bob.
“Batrana had so much determination to get the job done, and she really stuck her head out and found the line.
“We had a nice run and the luck fell our way, she is lovely bred filly, trained in the right hands and a pretty high-profile owner.”
“I have been doing a bit of work for the McEvoy team.
“Calvin & Tony have jumped on my bandwagon lately.
“When I was a young apprentice starting out, I rode a lot for Tony at Morphettville as a claiming kid, and we had a lot of luck, so it is nice to get the association back going again.”