Patience rewarded with panna cotta

9 March 2015

Pins mare Panna Cotta put a number of issues behind her when she won the closing event of the Auckland Cup carnival on Saturday. The four-year-old showed her true worth with a gritty defeat of the Rating 65 sprinters for the third win of her career.

Bred by WS, the mare is raced by a syndicate that includes Mark Chittick and Mapperley Stud’s Simms Davison. “She’s always showed a fair bit, but she’s had some problems and a niggling cough,” trainer Stephen Marsh said. “The owners have been very patient and there’s a few more wins in her yet.”

Panna Cotta is out of the winning O’Reilly mare Vanilla Sky, who has been a good producer at stud. She is also the dam of the Listed Lion Red Plate winner and Group One performer Raid (Pins) and Lapel (Pins), the winner of eight races in Australia.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

Well, I got a bit behind last week, with Friday slipping by without realising it; hence no Corner. I have said on too many occasions that negative messages are of no help to anyone, and yet there seems so often a reason to be concerned. Clearly, this week the well-constructed Guerin Report on the threatened downgrade of our Group 1 races demands our attention.

21 October 2026

Vale Ohope Wins, Ocean Park’s tough, kind and courageous daughter

Long before her Oaks double, Ohope Wins’ greatest victory belonged to the Waikato Stud staff and Matamata Veterinary Services vets who saved her as a desperately sick foal. Taken far too soon at Caulfield, her remarkable story is theirs too.