Lonhro mare Chaste was scratched from her engagement at Taree yesterday to be reserved for the Coogee Hcp (Race 7 at 5.40pm AEDT) at Randwick on Wednesday.  The Scone based mare faces a tougher task in town but will appreciate the extra distance around the Kensington circuit.

Chaste won her Maiden and a Class 1 over 1100m at Scone last season and returned in November to score first-up over 1000m at Tamworth.  Trainer Greg Bennett sent her to Canterbury on December 17 and she wasn’t disgraced after striking interference at the start of a Fillies & Mares event.  She worked home nicely to be beaten less than three lengths by Sacrista over 1100m.

Chaste (4m Lonhro – Thunder Belle by Thunder Gulch) is from a winning half-sister to the speedy stakes performers Formal Attire (Danehill), Rough Chance (Rock of Gibraltar) and the dam of Mark Kavanagh’s rising star Definitely Ready (More Than Ready).

Chaste is an older half-sister to Tiermes (Anabaa) who won a Sunshine Coast maiden for the late Bruce McLachlan in January 2009.  Their 2yo half-brother Epic (Stratum) is also trained by Bennett and he was fifth home in the G3 Breeders’ Plate at Randwick in October.