 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2012
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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Habibti went to the head of the first season trotting class with an emphatic display in the $25,000 Glenferrie Farm NZ 2YO Trotting Stakes at Addington last Saturday night.
In the first juvenile trotting feature of the season, where favouritism had been disputed between Royal Aspirations and Paramount Queen, Habibti was eased away from the seven gate by David Butt but a quick burst at the 1300m landed the flashy chestnut filly in front and Butt was able to dictate things from there. Another spurt with a 29.6 quarter down the back took the stuffing out of the chasers and Habibti was on her own in the run home, crossing the line with three and a half lengths to spare over Sheemon and Paramount Queen.
On a blustery night which subdued times noticeably, Habibti posted 2 27.8 and a 2 01.9 mile rate and this was only .3 of a second outside Kylie Ree's national filly record. The all-comers mark is still held by Tony H at 2 27.1 after a titanic struggle with the freak filly Jo Anne in the 2001 Trotting Stakes.
Habibti has been in pretty much every battle from the start of the season and she has now had two wins, three second and three thirds from eight races for Rangiora's Robert 'Bolty' Paterson and David and Catherine Butt's Birchbrook Breeding Ltd. Bred by Gaby Maghzal, Habibti is the fourth foal and first filly from the Sundon mare Ten To One, who began racing at five for Dick Petrie and who retired at 11 with six wins, five of them at seven. Her first three foals have qualified without racing yet, with Maghzal acquiring her as a broodmare and her second foal Gabrielli, after first racing a close relation and smart juvenile Signor Gabrielli some 30 years ago. Paterson also races Musgrove, a winner of $170,000 and a game third from 40m two races earlier.
Habibti was coming off a slightly disappointing second at Rangiora the previous week, when she was gunned down by Rosemma. "We had her blood done after that and it turned out she was a bit crook," said David Butt. "She's only made two wee mistakes in her life - in her first start back in January and then in her first look at a grass track at Methven. She's always appealed as a good staying type and she's getting stronger all the time," he added.
Habibti is not paid up for the Sires Stakes in a month's time, bu Butt said they will "have to look at the late entry fee now. Initially I wasn't that keen because the $6000 is only for the one race - it doesn't put you back in the 3yo series. But we'll have to think about it now that she has won it I guess."
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 12Apr2012