Game Tilianam goes the distance

Honest mare Tilianam ticked another box when she was successful in Benchmark 80 company at Doomben on Saturday afternoon.

The Waikato Stud-bred and sold daughter of Savabeel had won on three previous occasions, including the Listed Lonhro Plate, up to 1200 metres and she coped admirably with the step up to 1350 metres.

“That was obviously a little bit of a query and she was up in weight (57.5kg), but she did a really nice job,” winning rider Angela Jones said.

Tilianam was quickly into stride to sit in second spot and she surged clear 200 metres from home for a comfortable victory.

“She travelled sweetly and towed me into it at the top of the straight and I knew she would be hard to run down,” Jones said.

Tilianam was originally purchased by trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott for A$270,000 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and won twice for them.

She was then offered at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and was knocked down for A$625,000 to Newgate Bloodstock and transferred to Tony Gollan’s Eagle Farm operation.

Tilianam is out of the stakes-placed Pins mare Spending, a daughter of the G3 Thoroughbred Club S. winner Splashing Out, and she is a sister to the Group winners Shopaholic and Packing Pins and a half-sister to another Group winner in Splurge.

It is also the family of the late four-time winner and successful sire Sacred Falls.