At a lazy $21, the three-year-old sat outside leader Miss Bosetti until she unleashed a brutal sprint turning for home, dashing away to win by two lengths to seal her first win in eight starts.
After pocketing the $96,000 cheque for first place, co-trainer Ben Hayes said the filly had impressed he and fellow trainer Tom Dabernig despite not breaking through as a two-year-old.
“She’s been a very unlucky horse in her races to date and she’s been knocked off by some really nice horses,” Hayes said.
“Off her trials, she looked like she really improved. We weren’t sure (where to send her) — we were going to go to a maiden — but she trialled so well, so we changed plans and went to here for the stakes race and it was a very good decision.
“It was a huge result.”
Bella Nipotina has never finished any further back than fourth in her eight starts, now with a win and two placings at Group or Listed level.
As the racing season heats up, there is no shortage of options for the promising filly moving forward; Hayes identified a couple of the key options post-race.
“We’ll see how she pulls up — she’s a filly that does feel her runs,” he said.
“If she pulls up well there are options like the Atlantic Jewel (Stakes at Moonee Valley) or maybe the Cap D’Antibes (Stakes at Flemington) now, they’re the races that we’ll look at.”
Fellow Lindsay Park runner Aryaaf made up some ground late in the race, but finished nearly five lengths back in seventh.
Later in the day, Cape Of Good Hope put in another underwhelming run in the Group Two PB Lawrence Stakes, the first horse beaten in the 1400 m race.
