Tilianam sizzles home for stakes success

Tilianam is proving to be a pleasant surprise to trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and higher honours await the Savabeel filly.

Bred and sold by Waikato Stud, she was a debut winner at Canberra and at Randwick this afternoon powered home to land the Listed Darley Lonhro Plate and remain unbeaten.

“Her attitude will carry her a long way. She’s been so professional and showed that at her first start and gave her experience of a trip away,” Bott said.

“We’ve got some decisions to make now as she’s not paid up for the G1 Golden Slipper S. She’s by Savabeel and we didn’t expect her to come up so quickly and well.

“We’ll talk to the owners and plot a path for her. What she is doing now is just on raw talent.”

Tilianam settled off the pace before jockey Tim Clark got serious and the filly wound up powerfully to reel in her rivals.

“She’s typical of Gai and Adrian’s horses and is so professional, she’s such a sweet filly to tide,” he said.

“My concern was the 1000 metres, but they went along nicely and she travelled well. She showed a wonderful turn of foot to put the race away.”

Tilianam was purchased by her trainers for $270,000 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and is a daughter of the Pins mare Spending, a winner and runner-up in the Listed Creswick S.

She is a sister to the G2 Angus Armanasco S. winner Shopaholic and G3 Arawa S. winner Packing pins and a half-sister to the G2 Challenge S. winner Splurge.

They are out of the G3 Thoroughbred Club S. winner and G1 Ascot Vale S. runner-up Splashing Out and the family of the four-time G1 winner Sacred Falls.