Filly fires for feature

 • Barooga Rock,  with Natalee Emery in the cart, heading for a well-earned spell. Photo by Stacey Lear.

By Tony Scott,
November 24, 2021

Waterhouse-bred pacer Barooga Rock has earned a long rest after winning the $50,000 feature race for three-year old fillies at Mowbray on Sunday.

Owner-trainer Ian Abraham was a satisfied man after his charge won the Bandbox Stakes he’d set her for six months ago.

It didn’t go quite according to the pre-race plan when the favourite was a “little too relaxed”.

“She’s not a real good starter so from the second row wasn’t a bad possie.

“The second favourite Nova Baxter had drawn the front row and is usually very quick to start, so we wanted to have her up in the death seat early on to eyeball her for the early part of the race.

“But Barooga was a bit lazy and didn’t get up towards the front, so we had to go to plan B.

“That meant she had to go from about 1100 metres and race three-wide.

“We were a bit nervous there for a while, but when she gets in front she’s hard to pass.”

The filly held out Nova Baxter to win by 3.5 metres.

In doing so she mirrored the efforts of her mother Barooga Minnie, who also won the feature event.

Abraham said at this early stage of her career she’s as good a horse as he’s had.

She’s won five of her eight starts and finished second twice making her first start fifth place as a two-year old her only finish out of the placing.

He said the reward would be a long spell.

“The new handicap system means she would take a big step up in class.

“She’s still only small, so I think we’ll have a complete holiday, horse and trainer.

“Then we might look at the same race around this time next year. That’ll be the Granny Smith Stakes for Tasmanian-bred four-year old mares.”   

Another North-East runner Bridport-based Living On Prare was almost in the prizemoney on Sunday as well, crossing the line third, only to be relegated to last for racing inside the marker pegs.