Avery Anna has announced herself as a promising talent with a debut win at Geelong.
The Ladbrokes Popular SRM Maiden Plate (1125) on Wednesday was a captivating contest decided between three first-time starters.
The filly, prepared by the partnership of Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin, was the outsider of the three, with her odds drifting from $3.80 at acceptance time to $5 at the start.
In contrast, the second-placed Voltrix was the $2.30 favourite after early support saw her odds firm from $2.15 on-course. A significant market move was also noted for Big Lap, who officially opened at $4 but tightened to $3.10 after being backed from $17 the previous day.
It was Avery Anna, under the skilled riding of Craig Williams, who showed the most grit in the concluding stages to win by a half-head from Voltrix, with Big Lap a similar margin behind in third.
Larkin indicated the stable had expected a forward showing from Avery Anna but conceded the filly would benefit from the race experience.
“She’s a filly that I think has a lot of ability, but she is still not all there quite yet,” Larkin told racing.com.
“She was over-racing at times in the mid-stages. She’s got a good turn of foot but was floating around late.
“I thought she was going to get headed at the 100 (metres) and run a nice third, but she stuck on and wanted to be there.
“It’s good signs for a horse going forward and we did say to the owners this morning that she was still six months away from being at her best as she’s got quite a bit of maturity still to come.”
Williams aligned with Larkin’s post-race analysis, stating Avery Anna possesses a strong engine but needs further racing experience to refine her race-day tactics, despite the narrow, hard-fought victory.
“The stable was very confident with her today and she still has all her future in front of her when she develops a bit more and she will learn a lot from this race experience,” Williams said.
“Most importantly, she has a good motor.”
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