AMONG BEL’S ELITE

Brian Donohoe makes an interesting observation in his Bel Esprit Winners Club blog, alluding to the number of top trainers who send their horses to race at Sale due to the ‘true and (long) straight’ nature of the track.
For the second at Sale yesterday (29 April) – the Newry Fencing Contractors 2YO Maiden Plate (1200m) – Messrs Hayes, Griffiths, O’Brien, Laing, Moloney, Smerdon, Freedman, Eurell and McArdle all had runners, but it was the unheralded runner of Moe mentor, Michael Templeton, who grabbed the bikkies.
Elite Ebony, who hails from the 2007 crop of Champion Victorian Sire, Bel Esprit, had trialed twice previously and was less than impressive on either occasion.
Accordingly, she was sent out a $41 shot at Sale but soon belied her odds by taking out the scamper with over a length to spare.
Out of the Crested Wave mare, Larnie (a sister to Cox Plate winner Surfers Paradise), Elite Ebony was bred by Anthony Mithen’s Rosemount Stud.
Bel Esprit’s other 2YO headliners this season include the stakes winner Strike The Tiger and stakes placed The Pupster, while Brian also observes that Black Caviar made her debut on 18 April 2009.
While not drawing comparisons, it’s clear that Elite Ebony has her share of ability.