Hera back to winning ways

Smart filly Hera bounced back to her best form at Avondale yesterday with the promise of further honours to come. Bred by Garry Chittick, the O’Reilly filly had been unplaced when resuming at Ellerslie but showed the benefit of that outing with a strong performance for the third win of her short career.

She enjoyed a rewarding juvenile campaign last season with a New Plymouth success followed by victory in the Listed Great Northern Foal Stakes. Trainer Roger James had intended to have Hera back racing sooner this preparation but was been forced to wait. “She didn’t do too well early in the early spring so I put her out again,” he said. “We’ll be looking at the good Christmas racing with her.”

Raced by long-time stable clients Ron and Fran Dixon, she was purchased by James from WS’s 2012 Select Sale line-up for $28,000. She is out of the Centaine mare Corsica and the family of former top two-year-old Ballroom Babe (Ellerslie and Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes) and Dandy Andy (Australian Cup).