Mungrup Stud was a common thread among the first three maiden winners at Bunbury on Thursday.
DUBREEZE (Due Sasso) saluted by a nose first-up as the $4 favourite in the Noel Wenman Maiden (1200m). He is a younger half-brother to LR Hannan’s Hcp winner Sireeze who is entered for the $150,000 R J Peters Stakes at Ascot this Saturday.
Sharon Miller trains both gallopers for Kalgoorlie owners Matt and Kevin Reilly. They are from G3 WA Oaks winner Westerly Breeze (Dr Johnson) and the mare’s latest is a yearling filly by Hala Bek.
MISSISSIPPIAN (Oratorio) gave favourite punters palpitations before flying home for a well-timed victory in the Troy Blechynden Maiden (1200m). He won’t be long travelling to town from the south-west stables of Ross & Clint Price.
The Bob Peters homebred is a half-brother to class mare Elite Belle who won the G3 Prince of Wales Stakes at her penultimate start. She also sports those cerise and white-sashed silks and is currently the $8 second-favourite for the G1 Railway Stakes behind The Cleaner.
DANEAWING (Danehill Express) might have been an unknown quantity on debut but he was hard to miss beating grey mare Peggie’s Kitten in the Michael McCormack Maiden (1200m).
A big lump of a horse standing 17 hands, Daneawing towered over the runner-up to complete a Mungrup hat-trick in a day of close finishes at Bunbury.
“He wobbled around the corner and is still doing a fair bit wrong,” owner-trainer Rob Witten said. “There’s lots of natural improvement to come and I think he will eventually get over ground.
Daneawing is from Korilya Stud’s Queen’s Plate winner Born With Wings (Chanteclair). It’s a branch of blue-chip mare Miss Holborn that’s been producing stakes winners for Ellie Giles since Getting There (Beau Sovereign) won the 1984 Gimcrack Stakes.
“It’s hard not to like that family,” Witten continued. “We were happy to get him although he was a bit unruly early on. He also had wind surgery but everything’s as good as gold now.”
Danehill Express is punching well about his weight this season with 20 individual winners from three crops. He’s third in that division behind well-established stars Blackfriars and Oratorio (Aus) in WA.
First-crop chief-earner Express Service can build on a $427,0000 bank-account against Sireeze and co. in the G3 Peters Stakes this Saturday. And long-term WA Derby hope Halo Express will continue to rise up the ranks in the Skyy Vodka Hcp (1800m) earlier on the program.
His Mungrup team-mate Oratorio will feature with class filly Cadenza in the other Group 3 on Saturday.. She won the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in February and will lead the field out in a wide-open G3 Champion Fillies Stakes.