Etoile Filante Avondale Cup bound

1 February 2014

WS graduate Etoile Filante returned an ideal dress rehearsal for an upcoming Group Two test when she posted the fifth win of her 11-start career at Te Rapa today. The Pins four-year-old’s victory in the Haliton Cup in her open class debut has confirmed plans to shoot for a higher prize at Ellerslie on February 15.

“This was a lead-up to the Avondale Cup and that’s always been the plan and we’ll see what happens after that,” co-trainer Peter Williams said. “I don’t think she’s a real two mile (3200m) horse at the moment – she might be later on and I don’t want to over-tax her too much.”

Etoile Filante was bred by WS with David Williams, who races the daughter of the Zabeel mare Etoile Du Nord. The Matamata stud sold her O’Reilly colt for $75,000 during last week’s Premier Sale at Karaka and two years previously a brother realised $160,000.

Test

8 January 2025

Bonny result for glamour mare

Bonneval, a two-time Horse of the Year, starred on the track with seven wins, including Group 1 victories in the New Zealand and Australian Oaks. Now flourishing as a broodmare for Garry Chittick, her first foal Mary Eliza claimed a strong win at Mornington, showcasing Bonneval’s continued influence in racing.